The Search for an Undercover Scoop
by matchmakerqtpie
Summary: After graduating from Hogwarts Ginny gets a job at a newspaper. In order to beat her competitor she has to come up with the perfect news scoop. Ginny decides to do something daring, go undercover and date Draco Malfoy in a desperate attempt at a story. GD
1. Why Read Romance Novels?

The Search for an Undercover Scoop  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Ginny Weasley settled down in her comfy old brown couch, holding a romance novel in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. She was hoping that this one was not as mushy as the last one, she usually skipped over those sections.  
  
Why was she, the type of woman who was raised with all brothers and never like girly things but instead preferred sports, reading a romance novel you wonder?  
  
Well, the answer is short and simple. She wrote the book review column for the wizard newspaper called Warts. It was her first real job after graduating from Hogwarts and so she was excited to start working. That was until she found out that they would only let her do book reviews until she wrote something good enough for her boss to know she was ready to write for a different section of the newspaper.  
  
They chose the books she had to review, and so she had to bare through the two-hundred pages of unrealistic sappy romance scenes. That was why she needed the coffee. It helped her survive the torture without falling asleep. Plus, she had become a coffee-holic, and was proud of it.  
  
She took a sip of the coffee and glanced at the cover of the novel. It had a picture of a woman, with long brown hair flowing in the wind and a perfect figure with a summer dress covering her, standing in front of a man. The man had short black tousled hair and he was wearing a white shirt that was unbuttoned and baring his perfectly chiseled chest. The title was 'The Preacher's Daughter'.  
  
Yes, this book was going to be just like the five others she was forced to read in the past six months. The usual plotline consisting of a good-looking heroine and hero, both falling in love with each other and having incredible sex, of course while at the same time overcoming unrealistic obstacles that test their love for each other. Yippy.  
  
After studying the cover, she opened to the first page. Taking another sip of coffee she began to read the first sentence. "Cassandra stood on the field outside her home looking out at the sunset...."  
  
The phone rang, startling Ginny and causing her to spill her coffee on herself and the book. "Shit!" she yelled, dropping the book and setting down what was left of the coffee. She grabbed some tissues and started wiping herself as she picked up the phone.  
  
"Hello?" she asked, with annoyance in her voice. Whoever this was it better be good... or else they were in for it. It was bad enough she had to read romance novels in the first place, but now she was spilling her beloved coffee.  
  
"Ginny? It's Hermione." the voice replied.  
  
"Hermione! Hi. How have you been?" Ginny asked, now all of a sudden happy. It was good to hear her best friend's voice. She hadn't seen Hermione in about two weeks because she was busy with her work as an Auror.  
  
"Good. How about you? They still have you reviewing books?"  
  
"Yeah, unfortunately." she replied, forgetting all about her spill and the book that fell to the floor. "But I have been working on something that I hope will get me promoted."  
  
"What is it about?" Hermione asked, interested.  
  
"A conspiracy within the Ministry of Magic. I have an anonymous informant that has been giving me information for my report." Ginny proudly announced.  
  
"Really? Sounds interesting. Who does it involve?"  
  
"Sorry, can't tell you. You will have to wait for my article, so you better start planning my promotion party pronto. I'm turning in the article tomorrow morning." she confidently replied. She could not wait till tomorrow. She was positive that this was the piece that was going to get her the position at the newspaper that she had wanted for a long time.  
  
"So, can Miss Next Big Time Reporter come out tonight with me and Ron for drinks?" her friend asked with a mocking tone in her voice.  
  
"Yes she can. What time should I go pick you two up?"  
  
"Eight." Hermione answered abruptly. "Oh, and how has Harry been lately? I haven't been able to get in touch with him."  
  
"He has been working with the Ministry on something 'top secret'. He'll be back in a couple days, so you can see him then."  
  
"I see. How are you two? Trouble in paradise?"  
  
"I should be asking you the same thing. But, no, we are doing fine. I just don't get to see him that often because he is always working." Ginny said. Harry and her had been dating since his seventh year. She had always had a little crush on him, and after he got over Cho he decided to ask her out. They had broken up a couple times, one being her whole last year of Hogwarts, but when she graduated and they saw each other again they instantly clicked.  
  
Now, she wasn't sure if he was 'the one' or 'Mr. Right', but he was a good boyfriend when he was around and she liked spending time with him. She did love him, but she was not in love with him, or at least she wasn't sure if she was or not. Her life was no romance novel.  
  
"I don't have that problem. Ron is always available. Sometimes even too available. It can get annoying. Especially when he wants to do something and I am swamped with work. It's hard being the busiest woman in the world, who happens to be the Head Auror, and be dating the least busy man in the world. I don't see how we ever get along, being as different from each other as night and day..." Hermione rambled in response.  
  
"Opposites attract, you know." Ginny said, interrupting her friend. She knew very well that was the case with her brother and her best friend. They started dating after they graduated Hogwarts and they had been going strong ever since. Ginny was expecting Ron to come to her for advice on proposing any day now. "And at least you have a boyfriend who has time for you. I could be cheating on him with ten different men right now and he would have no clue."  
  
"You aren't thinking of cheating, are you?" a concerned voice asked promptly.  
  
"Oh yeah. Right now I have two men in my bedroom waiting for me to return. Then I have a date at five with a different man named Rufus, and tomorrow a sexy date with my Spanish love Juan." Ginny replied sarcastically. When she heard no response she added, "Just kidding! Do you really think I would date someone named Rufus?"  
  
"I would hope not." Hermione said relieved and then laughing slightly. "Well, I'll let you go. See you at eight. Don't be late like you were last time."  
  
"Hey! That was not my fault." she replied, defending herself.  
  
"Ok, bye."  
  
"Buh-bye." Ginny hung up the phone. Then she glanced at the clock. It was a little past four. She had time to read some of the book, eat dinner, and then be ready to go out by seven thirty. She got back into her previous comfortable position, forgetting all about the coffee spill that was now dried up, and she picked up her book from the floor.  
  
It had a yellow spot on some of the pages, but it was still readable. 'Unfortunately' she thought, opening the book up to where she had left off. Right, that was where she was, "Cassandra stood on the field outside her home looking out at the sunset...."  
  
Fifty pages later Ginny wanted to strangle Cassandra with her phone cord. The character was perfect at everything, yet she was a whiney little twit who did everything in her power to keep herself from being truly happy by making stupid decisions. In other words, she was not someone that Ginny would be able to get along with.  
  
So far she had found out that Cassandra was the preacher's daughter, and her mother was dying of some kind of cancer. The preacher, meanwhile, decides to let a young man who was a town outcast because of his bad reputation move in with them temporarily so he could help 'save his soul'. Cassandra, of course, was attracted to him, but didn't trust him because of the stories she had heard.  
  
This whole storyline was trite, Ginny knew that, and she wondered why someone would purposely subject themselves to that kind of filth. Or at least it was filth in her eyes. Ok, she could admit that romance novels were not as bad as she described them as, but she just didn't like them. They were too unrealistic for her taste.  
  
Ginny set down the book and turned on her TV to the sports channel so she could watch some Quidditch. That was something that always put her in a good mood. She stood up and went into the kitchen, grabbed something quick to eat, and returned to her loyal television.  
  
Around seven fifteen Ginny decided to get ready, it didn't take that long for her as opposed to the girls who would spend hours trying to look presentable and just ended up wasting time and looking like they overdid it.  
  
She put on a red tank top and black pants and pulled her blonde hair back in a ponytail. Yes, Ginny had blonde hair. It was sort of a dare from Hermione, to do something drastic with her hair, and so she changed it from her natural bright red to a honey blonde color. Surprisingly, it actually looked good on her, and Harry didn't even get a chance to see it yet. She couldn't wait to see her boyfriend's reaction when he saw her.  
  
Without even taking another look in the mirror, she picked up her bag and proceeded to leave her apartment. She turned off the television, throwing the remote on the couch, and locked her apartment from the outside. Then she set off to Hermione and Ron's apartment.  
  
They had moved in together several months ago, deciding that they were ready for the plunge. That was when Hermione had a mental breakdown. It took her awhile to get used to Ron's sloppiness and at one point she even considered them going back to having separate apartments, but then she got over it. His messiness still bothers her, but now he was trying to be clean and she hired someone to clean the apartment every now and then.  
  
Ginny walked up two flights of stairs, and then found herself in front of their door. She knocked three times before the door was pulled open from underneath her fist and she was faced with the happy expression of her best friend.  
  
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A/N- Just first chapter to give some background, it will get better. Please review and tell me what you think. 


	2. A Bad Morning

Chapter 2  
  
The following day, Ginny's alarm clock went off as usual at seven in the morning. She hit the snooze button and then continued on with her sleep. When she finally emerged from bed, only because of the bright light coming in from her windows, she put her hand on her head. It was pounding hard, as if someone was hitting her over the head with a hammer in rapid succession.  
  
'Oh great,' she thought. 'I have a hangover.' It felt pretty bad, and she took a sip of water from a bottle that was sitting on her bedside table before running into the bathroom and throwing up in her sink. What a wonderful way to start a day, eh?  
  
She washed off her face, and then re-entered her bedroom. As she was changing from her red silk pajamas into her business clothes, she happened to glance at the clock. It was quarter of nine. She was forty-five minutes late!  
  
She pulled on her clothes as fast as possible, picked up her bag and report, and then ran out of her apartment as if a crazy man was chasing her with a chainsaw. She skipped steps going down the stairs, and ran out into the street like a mad woman. She didn't even care at this point that her hair was a mess and her expression looked like she was actually insane.  
  
Less then twenty minutes later she flew into the office of the newspaper she worked at. Ignoring the people who were greeting her throughout the place, she ran down the hall to her boss's office. The door was closed and she saw that somebody was already in there with him. Then the door opened and out came her current rival, Cho Chang.  
  
Yes, it was ironic that her boyfriend's ex-crush was now her adversary in work as well, but it really had nothing to do with the fact that Harry had liked her. Cho had a low position at the newspaper, just like Ginny, even though she had been working there longer. Both of them had been competing for the same job ever since Ginny started working there.  
  
Now that wouldn't bother Ginny as much, if Cho didn't constantly ask her how Harry was and how she was doing with her current article. She just irked her so much. Every time they talked she would always pull the wrong strings, on purpose seemingly, and Ginny did not know why Cho appeared to not like her. Jealously over Harry never even passed Ginny's mind.  
  
As Cho passed by Ginny, she had a smug smile on her face. 'What is she so happy about?' she wondered, as she noticed the look of 'I beat you'. What she beat her at, Ginny had no idea. She smiled politely, even though she would have rather punched her in the face, and then entered the office of her boss Mr. Hillman, also known as Mr. Hellman.  
  
He obtained that nickname from his subordinates by being demanding and strict. He could be nice, but usually only when he was already in a good mood and if you do exactly what he wanted you to do. Ginny always turned her column in on time, so he really had nothing to yell at her about, but she did have a sneaking suspicion that he was getting annoyed about how she kept turning in other articles to try and convince him to promote her.  
  
This day, which started off terribly for her, could be looking better because he did not seem like he was in a bad mood. She walked into the office, and saw him sitting at his leather chair behind a mahogany desk. He glanced up at her, and motioned for her to sit down in one of the chairs in front of his desk.  
  
She did as he wanted, after closing the door behind her, and set her bag down on the floor. She held her report in her hand and said confidently, "Mr. Hillman, I have an article that I would like you to look at." Then she set it lightly on the desk in front of him and studied his expression.  
  
For some reason he did not seem at all surprised. "You were forty-five minutes later today, Miss Weasley. I am sure that you have a good reason." he said in a dull tone of voice while looking at something that was already on his desk.  
  
"Sorry, I overslept." she proclaimed. Unlike many of her fellow employees, she was not afraid of him. As far as she was concerned he was a cranky old man who was jealous that his youth was gone, so he tormented the young people around him. Yeah, that was it. Either that or he just woke up on the wrong side of his craftmatic adjustable bed every day. (A/N: I'm pretending that Ginny knows what those type of beds are)  
  
Without responding, he opened the cover of her report and began to read it in front of her. He studied each page carefully, with a serious expression on his face and both of his brows lowered. Ginny sat there watching him, anxious to know his response to her piece. She sat on the edge of her chair, still feeling lousy, but getting very impatient.  
  
After ten minutes of that torture, he finally looked up at her and closed the paper. "Impressive." he stated, causing Ginny to elate with joy. She was just about to jump out of her seat and scream, but that was until she heard him continue. "Unfortunately Miss Chang just handed me a piece similar to yours, if not the same."  
  
So that was why Cho had that look on her face! How did she know about what Ginny was writing about? Ginny only told Hermione, who couldn't have been able to tell Cho, and there was her informant. Would Cho have stolen the article from her apartment? No, that's too unrealistic. Maybe her informer was also telling things to other people as well...  
  
"Hello, Miss Weasley?" Mr. Hillman asked, waving a hand in front of her face.  
  
She had gone into a state of confusion and anger. If only she hadn't overslept! Then she would have beaten Cho to her boss. Then Ginny snapped out of it and was once again looking into the brown eyes of her boss. "Yes?" she asked, having missed whatever it was he said, yet at the same time knowing that he had been talking about something.  
  
"I said that since you two wrote about the same thing, both very well too, it is hard to judge which of you to commend. Yes, Miss Chang turned hers in first, but I do find it odd that you both wrote about the same thing. It is an interesting topic, I admit, but I'm afraid we cannot use it. The Ministry already went public with it half an hour ago."  
  
Ginny groaned. This day was not looking to get any better. Was she destined to be writing about romance novels and science fiction the rest of her life? Not if she had anything to say about it! Even if she had to quit her job and somehow start her own newspaper, which was not very likely, then she would find a way to get the career she was pursuing.  
  
Her supervisor continued talking. "So, I have decided to let you both write another article. You have one month. Whichever article is better, which will be a hard choice, will be published in the newspaper and the writer will get a promotion. How does that sound?"  
  
Things were looking up, slightly. "Thank you for the opportunity. I won't let you down." she replied.  
  
"Good. Now go, I have work to do. Don't forget the book reviews are due by the end of the week." he reminded her before returning to the papers that were piled up on his desk.  
  
Ginny picked up her bag and let herself out of his office. He had been nice, and she was lucky that she got another chance at the promotion, which she felt was rightfully hers. That was the good news, the bad news was that she had to come up with some groundbreaking controversial story in one month. Not only that, but it had to better than Cho's, not to mention about a different topic.  
  
She walked through the office building again, this time saying bye to her co-workers, and walked outside. She stood for a moment, breathing in the outside air, and then continued across the street to where a coffee shop was conveniently placed.  
  
She entered the shop, and without looking around, walked straight up to the counter. She bought a large coffee, black, along with a small chocolate chip muffin. After waiting for the incompetent man, or at least how she liked to look at it seeing as she was in a bad mood, she grabbed her breakfast and threw some coins on the counter.  
  
She found a clean table at the corner of the room and sat down. She had picked up a newspaper on her way out of the office from someone she worked with, so she opened it up on the table and read over the headlines. Her boss was right, there were already articles about that conspiracy throughout other newspapers. Apparently the Ministry came out with it before anyone else could, and they blamed it all on one man who was being questioned at the current time. In his picture he looked upset, like he had been crying, and oddly the expression on his face looked like innocence. Ginny thought that they were just using him as an excuse, but she had no proof to contradict the article.  
  
She took a large swig of her coffee, praying that it would make her splitting headache go away, and threw the newspaper angrily down across the table. The coffee shop seemed busy for being a time when most people were working, but the people in it did not seem to pay any attention to her.  
  
Ginny took a small bite of the muffin, unsure if it was a good idea for her to be eating. With the way she was feeling, she could be throwing up this muffin soon. She wasn't too worried though; the minute she got home she was going to take some potion for hangovers such as hers. She didn't have enough time to take it earlier. She was halfway done her coffee when she heard the little bell at the door ring. Curious, she glanced over at the door to see who it was entering, after all she did have the perfect view from where she was sitting.  
  
It was a tall man, about six foot most likely, with pale blonde hair. He was dressed in a black business suit and holding a briefcase in his right hand. He looked strong, and she was sure that there were muscles underneath the business attire. He walked to the front counter and seemed to be arguing with the cashier, who after a couple minutes looked terrified.  
  
There was something familiar about that man, and even though she was feeling like going back home and sleeping, she couldn't help but sit there and stare at him. The worker had a panicked expression on his face, and he seemed to rush much faster with the man's order then he had done for Ginny. 'What did he say to him that would get him moving so fast?' she wondered.  
  
The man grabbed his order, which she saw as coffee and a bag of something. He stood there, not acknowledging the small line that was beginning to form behind him, and looked at what was in the bag. Then he looked back up at the cashier and began demanding something, Ginny found herself leaning over to try and hear what he was saying, but all she managed to understand was that the man forgot to put butter on his bagels.  
  
The cashier took the bag back, and fixed his mistake before handing the bag back to the blonde man. She could see that the cashier was trembling and perspiration was forming on his brow. Eventually, the man threw some money on the table as if it meant nothing to him, and he looked around the room for a place to sit.  
  
Ginny had only known one person like that her whole life who was so demanding and acted like he was superior to everyone around him. That person happened to be the enemy of her boyfriend throughout Hogwarts, and she shrugged the thought off telling herself that he was probably killing someone at the moment, so he wouldn't have time for coffee. It was then that she looked up and found herself looking into the smoky gray eyes of Draco Malfoy.  
  
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A/N: Thanks to erbsenpüree and Catmint for reviewing! Please review! 


	3. An Awkward Conversation

Chapter 3  
  
She didn't know what to do. What did he want? Maybe he was coming over to ridicule her some more, as if he didn't get enough of that in school. She had to decide, would she stay and partake in some witty repartee with him or would she leave as quickly as possible in an attempt to escape him making her day even worse...  
  
He didn't give her an option. The next thing she knew he was seated across from her, and setting down his breakfast. "The place is full," he explained, taking a sip of coffee and opening his brown bag to take out a buttered bagel.  
  
'Why does he feel incapable of buttering his own bagel?' she asked herself, finding it crazy that he could live his whole life acting as some big bad boy, when really he was dependent on the people around him who he treated like scum.  
  
She had grown up without the luxury of having house elves to do things for her, so she always had to do things for herself. She couldn't imagine having someone else wait on her hand and foot. It just seemed creepy. Besides, why get someone else to do it when you are perfectly capable of doing it yourself? She did not understand rich wizards at all, or even like them. The ones she knew were stuck up, like Malfoy, and they got on her nerves.  
  
Then she wondered, 'Why would Malfoy sit down with me? He didn't even call me Weaselette like he always did.' Maybe he had grown up and changed... The only problem is that people like him do not change. In one year they can't go from an evil prat to a civil human being. It was physically and mentally impossible. Not only that, but he was a Malfoy. The last part should explain all.  
  
She glanced back at him and noticed him looking at her at the same time. "Draco Malfoy." he stated, introducing himself to her. Wait, was he actually being... civil? She never thought that she would live to see the day...  
  
Wait a minute, why would he introduce himself to her if they already knew each other? He must not recognize her. Then she remembered that of course he wouldn't recognize her, Harry wouldn't either if he saw her. It must be because of her current blonde hair, along with the fact that he hasn't seen her since his seventh year.  
  
Before she replied, an idea hit her. God was giving her the opportunity of a lifetime. She could pretend she was someone else and then use Malfoy to find out information for her new story. It would work out perfectly; even Cho couldn't beat this. Plus she wouldn't feel one ounce of guilt. It was like her way of getting promoted while getting back at him for all the trouble he caused her and her friends, not to mention all the other people he treated badly. But how would she the information? Hmm...  
  
So, she put on a smile and replied, "Nice to meet you. I'm Paige Weathorton." She went with the first name that she could think of, trying her best not to look like she had to think about what her own name was. Then he would think she was, uh, a bit odd.  
  
He nodded in response, taking a bite of his bagel followed by a taste of his coffee. He glanced over and saw the newspaper lying on the table. "That's all a load of rubbish you know." he said, gesturing towards the paper and taking another bite of his bagel.  
  
She agreed with him, although she did not want to admit that she could ever agree with Malfoy on something. "I know." she replied, shooting an angry look at the newspaper. She was still upset over the fact that she slaved over that article for weeks and somehow Cho had managed to come up with the same story. Then she took another swig of the warm java.  
  
"Do you work nearby?" Malfoy asked after a couple minutes.  
  
"No, actually. I am looking for a job. I had an interview earlier this morning and it didn't go too well, so I decided to come here and drown my sorrows in a cup of coffee." she responded smoothly. She was a pretty good liar.  
  
"Really? When I am upset I drown my sorrows in a bottle of firewhiskey," he said. Either he was joking or he had a substance abuse problem. She decided to take it as a joke.  
  
Ginny laughed softly and then thought of what to say next. "So Malfoy-"  
  
"Call me Draco," he said, interrupting her.  
  
"Draco," she said. It felt weird calling him by his first name. She had only ever called him Malfoy for as long as she could remember. In fact, just talking to him felt wrong. It was as if she was expecting him to start acting like the Malfoy she knew any moment now. "Do you have a job?"  
  
"Yes, I work for my father."  
  
"What kind of work?" She obviously did not expect him to tell her the truth, but this could be interesting...  
  
"I am his assistant. We deal with certain matters of importance for the well-being of the wizarding community," he answered, unfazed by her question. You could take his general answer in many different ways, was that what he was intending?  
  
Either way she felt like screaming 'Liar! Liar! Pants on fire!' but she suppressed her urge. Instead she put on a fake smile and replied, "Interesting. Is there a reason why you are all decked out in a suit and all?" Her eyes shot to the briefcase that he had set down next to him. Her curiosity took over and she wanted to know what was in it. Could it be evidence? Evidence she need for her article and her promotion? Evidence that was calling out to her.  
  
"Yes, I came from a business meeting." he replied. He still had another half of bagel left, and the coffee. His eyes moved from his food, up to her, and then back to his food.  
  
What was he thinking? Ginny was unable to read his mind, even though she was usually perceptive. Then she glanced down and remembered that she had a muffin, so she took a bite of it and then had more coffee. Malfoy's presence had distracted her from her previous feelings, and suddenly she was once again aware of her hangover.  
  
"What do you do in your spare time?" Malfoy asked, most likely in an attempt to change the subject so he wouldn't be asked any more questions about his work. What a sly one, that Malfoy...  
  
Putting her hand on her head, she looked up and answered jokingly, "Talk to cute blonde strangers." She was sure she had heard a line like that in one of the many movies Hermione had convinced her to watch with her. Just saying it made her inwardly cringe; she had just implied that Malfoy was cute. The reason was that she knew the egomaniac over there would like a girl who would inflate his ego even more.  
  
His reaction was just as she expected. He grinned and replied, "Well, I already know that one, anything else?"  
  
"Quidditch." she quickly replied, mentally smacking herself on the head. If she was going to pretend to be another person, then she would have to stop acting so much like herself. Oh well, it was not like he knew Ginny liked Quidditch anyway, so she was fine.  
  
He seemed to like her answer. She knew that he enjoyed Quidditch as well; he had been the Slytherin seeker back in school. 'Haha and he still lost to Gryffindor' she thought to herself and then turned her attention back to him.  
  
"So then you are going to the big game tomorrow?" he asked.  
  
"I wish! Actually, I think I'm just going to end up watching from home." she truthfully answered. She didn't have the money or the means to go, and unfortunately she still had to finish reading that romance novel...  
  
"I have reserved seats, if you want to go with me."  
  
She wanted to go all right, but not with him. Then again, this was the chance she had been waiting for. So, she had to take it no matter how much she did not want to spend time with him. Plus she gets a free game of Quidditch along with it. "Are you asking me out on a date?"  
  
"Yes. So, you interested?"  
  
She was surprised at how well the conversation was going. He was actually able to act normal. That was a shocker. And what was even more a shocker was the fact that she was going to go on a date with Malfoy. "I'd love to go with you Draco." she lied with another fake smile.  
  
"I'll pick you up at one," he said. "Where do you live?"  
  
After a little while Ginny finally got to leave when Malfoy said that he had to go do something, and so she went back to her apartment. She set down her bag and headed towards the bathroom for the hangover potion. A couple minutes after taking it she felt much better.  
  
Then realization set in. She was going on a date with Malfoy. That didn't count as cheating on Harry, did it? No, of course not, because it was for work and she was going as 'Paige Weathorton', not Ginny Weasley.  
  
Ginny sat down in her living room, realizing that were was nothing to do at this time of day. She reluctantly picked up the romance novel, which she had to search her apartment for. That alone took some time. She wasn't sure if she left it in the living room, if it somehow found it's way into her bedroom, or if she had subconsciously thrown it in the trash or out a window. After she found it behind a desk, she remembered that the previous day she had thrown the book against the wall out of anger caused by the character's stupidity and her boss for making her read it.  
  
"Damn book review columns..." she muttered to herself as she tried to get in a comfortable position in order to force herself to read more of the book. She had to have it finished in less then a week, and she was only on page fifty-one.  
  
It seemed like she was on the same page for eternity. She sat there staring at the page and mentally made a list of all the punishments that she would prefer over reading that paperback, one of them being tying her to the roof of a flying car that is headed towards a brick wall. Yes, our Ginny does have quite the imagination...  
  
Finally, when she realized that she was getting nowhere with her task, she set the book down again. Maybe for the review she can simply write 'this book is crap, don't waste your money on it, and whatever you do don't read it or it will be the worst time of you life ever spent', but she knew Hellman would not appreciate that. 'Seriously, who picks these books anyway?' she wondered.  
  
Boredom kicked in, and Ginny found herself compelled to do something. Anything. Anything that was better than sitting on her couch and staring at the wall. That was when she fell asleep.  
  
A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed! And seeing as you are here, why don't you review too? Thanks.  
  
Catmint- Yeah, sorry about that I have a bad tendency for spelling names wrong and for having bad grammar. Thanks for pointing those out.  
  
HollyMahogany- I know it is, I can't even picture it really, but that was the point. That way no one recognizes her at first, and it was a crazy dare. So yeah, thanks for the lovely review. 


	4. Quidditch Game

Chapter 4  
  
The following day Ginny woke up at nine in the morning on her own. That was surprising to her because she was a deep sleeper and usually would keep sleeping until something woke her up. Her alarm clock was set to wake her up at ten that day, but she didn't need it since she woke up herself. She forgot that it was probably broken from the other day when she threw it and went back to sleep...  
  
She took a quick shower and then got dressed in a simple pair of jeans and a t-shirt. She wasn't the type of person who spent hours deciding what to wear. She then brushed her long hair and tied a black bandana around her head to keep the hair back.  
  
The minute she took a step in her kitchen to search for something to eat when the phone rang. As she picked up the phone, which was a housewarming present from her father who was obsessed with Muggle artifacts, she sat down and began to think about the food in her kitchen. Actually, it was more like lack of food because she could not cook, therefore she normally ate out and only kept things that were fast to make.  
  
"Hello?" Ginny asked, having a feeling that it was Hermione again.  
  
"Ginny. I'm surprised you are awake, I thought you would still be sleeping." It was the voice of none other than Hermione. Ginny was right. Hermione was one of the only other people she knew had a phone and used it, having Muggle parents and all.  
  
"I woke up earlier than I expected. Did you want something?"  
  
"I wanted to ask you what you were doing today. Ron is having a 'guy's night', as he put it, with some people from work. I thought possibly we could do something, maybe watch some movies I borrowed from my mother."  
  
"Oh. I'm busy today, with work and all. I still haven't finished that god-awful rubbish sorry excuse for a book. Rain check?" Ginny replied. It wasn't completely a lie, her date with Malfoy was strictly for business purposes and she didn't finish the book yet either. Actually, it wasn't really a lie at all, but for some reason she felt a tiny pang of guilt.  
  
It wasn't like she could just tell Hermione what she was doing. It was undercover work, and for that to work she couldn't tell anyone. Besides, she knew that Hermione would say that it was wrong and she shouldn't be doing it, blah, blah, blah.  
  
Whenever Ginny thought up a plan that she thought was a good idea Hermione always opposed it. Just like that time when Ginny was in her sixth year and wanted to sneak into the restricted section so she could borrow a book that had instructions to make a potion that she needed to temporary read peoples minds. Needless to say, her plan didn't work out quite how she wanted it to and she ended up being in the infirmary for a week.  
  
"That's ok. Some other time then." her friend responded. "Work comes first."  
  
That was always Hermione's philosophy. She was always working herself to death, and everything turned out good for her. She became a Prefect, then Head Girl and now she was Head Auror. Ginny never knew anyone so enthusiastic about learning. Hermione was like a dictionary; she knows everything there is to know about everything.  
  
"Yeah. So, anything new?"  
  
"No, except Ron just bought this horrid yellow couch and refuses to return it. I love him, but he has no taste at all." Hermione said. "You know how stubborn he can be."  
  
"Yes I do." Ginny replied, laughing. Leave it to one of her many brothers to buy an ugly piece of furniture and refuse to get rid of it. She remembered back a year when Ron obtained a hideous gray turtleneck and wore it all the time. Hermione had owled her telling her about it. Hermione ended up stealing it and then throwing it out. Ron never found out.  
  
"What about you?"  
  
"Nothing really. Oh, but you will not believe the bad luck I had the other day. First I woke up late, then I was forty-five minutes late to work, and then I find out that Cho wrote an article about the same story I was using and the newspaper couldn't use them anyway because the news was out already." Ginny said, describing her previous day.  
  
"I read about that."  
  
The two women discussed that for a while, until Hermione said she had to go do something and Ginny told her that she would talk to her later. She glanced at her clock to see that it was a little past eleven, and so she went back to looking for food. She settled for some old Chinese leftovers and ate that while watching a special on the two teams who were playing in the Quidditch game that day. They talked about how the teams got started and about how the Noble Neanderthals had to replace their Seeker because their previous one mysteriously disappeared.  
  
Before she knew it there was a knock at her door. She got up, keeping her eyes focused on her television, and slowly made her way over to the door. She opened it and then turned her head to see who it was. It was the tall blonde right on time.  
  
"So this is where you live." he said, taking a look at her apartment. To him it was small and rather meager. He didn't get a good look though, because she shut the door back in his face. Then in a minute when he was about to leave it opened again and out came the woman. "Ready?"  
  
"Yes." she replied cheerily and walked with him down the stairs. As they were walking she looked at Malfoy. He was wearing a black shirt and jeans, and she was surprised at how tall he had grown in the past couple years.  
  
"Who are you cheering for?" she asked him, trying to make small talk.  
  
"The Vociferous Vultures, I suppose." he replied. That was the answer she expected from him. After all he would choose the team that was more Malfoy like compared to the opposing team named the Noble Neanderthals. "How about you?"  
  
"Me too, the Noble Neanderthals lost my support when they replaced the Seeker. Their new one isn't as good."  
  
When they arrived, she followed Malfoy as he took her to a special reserved section. The seats were perfect; you could see everything from them. She knew that she could never afford seats like that. The stands were full and crowded, but in the section they were in they had space and nice leather seats. This was the life.  
  
Then she remembered whom she was with. "Want something to eat or drink?" he asked her. Well at least he was being polite.  
  
"No, I'm fine. Thanks anyway." she replied and returned her attention to the empty field. She looked around and was anticipating the arrival of the teams. She took some chewing gum out of her pocket and began chewing.  
  
Soon, the teams were flying out on their brooms while the announcer introduced each member. Ginny's eyes were focused on the field, and they followed every movement. The game began and she watched as the bludger came shooting towards a Beater. Then she swore that she saw the twinkle of the golden Snitch. One of the seeker's must have seen it to; because soon he was plummeting in the direction she thought she saw it.  
  
She was so captivated by the game, that she didn't even notice when Malfoy put his arm around her, using the old yawn and stretch move. She started yelling as the team she was not routing for scored a goal and she was screaming for the other team to start paying attention.  
  
"Come on! What do you think you are doing!" Ginny screamed out, getting into the game and jumping out of her seat. She was a rabid Quidditch fan and proud of it. "Pull your heads out of your arses and pay attention!"  
  
Several people turned to look at Ginny when she yelled that, but soon they went back to watching the match.  
  
Malfoy was enjoying the game as well, but he occasionally would glance over at the girl beside him. He never dated someone so into Quidditch before. Plus he found it amusing that a small person could have such a loud mouth. She reminded him of the little dogs that looked cute and innocent, but could bark louder than the big dogs.  
  
"The Vociferous Vultures are up by two-hundred points," the announcer stated over the loud speaker. "Things could be looking up for them this year. There go both Seekers; they seem to be chasing each other to the Snitch. Wait, what is that in his hand? Oh, never mind..."  
  
Through the game Ginny paid no attention to Malfoy because she was too busy watching the game. There were several false sights of the Snitch, but eventually the Seekers caught an eye of it and darted after it. Finally one of the Seeker's caught hold of it.  
  
"And the Seeker caught the Snitch. Close call, the Noble Neanderthals win one thousand two hundred to one thousand one hundred and fifty." the announcer said.  
  
"So close!" Ginny yelled, angry that her team lost. They could have one too, if they started paying attention. The other team's Seeker was not that good; he had only caught the Snitch by chance. She stood up as everyone was getting up and leaving. The Vociferous Vulture fans were upset at their team loss, and many people were throwing their trash at the field in discontent.  
  
Ginny and Malfoy got stuck in a large crowd of people who were all trying to leave at once. Malfoy grabbed her hand so they wouldn't get separated, and eventually they made it out. "Where are we going?" Ginny asked as he led her off in a direction that she knew was not back to her place.  
  
"We have dinner reservations," he stated, like she should have known that already. He still had a grip on her small hand, and she walked faster to keep up with him.  
  
He hadn't even asked her to have dinner with him. Did he just expect for everyone to go by his plans? Well, she was hungry, so she decided to just go along with it. Knowing him and his money, he would take them to some place expensive and try to impress her with a fancy dinner.  
  
Sure enough, they were standing in front of a restaurant named Le Ensorcellement, which Ginny had heard of before. Someone at her newspaper did a review of the place. They said the food was specialized for that restaurant only, and it was a nice place to go if you have the money for it. Malfoy definitely had the money for it. She stood outside of it, peering in the window at the elaborate decor inside, until Malfoy opened the door for her and ushered her in.  
  
A/N: Thank you everyone for reviewing. Please leave a quick review and tell me what you think.  
  
Catmint- Thanks. Glad you like it.  
  
HollyMahogany- He's coming up soon. 


	5. Surprisingly Romantic Dinner for Two

Chapter 5  
  
Ginny looked around the inside of the restaurant in bewilderment. There was someone playing the piano softly in the background, all the tables had candles for light, the food looked amazing, and the decorations made you feel like you were in a dream. The ceiling looked like the night sky, dark with millions of stars, even the Milky Way and random shooting stars.  
  
She was busy staring at the ceiling when she felt someone take her hand and slowly lead her somewhere else. She looked up and found herself following Malfoy deeper into the building. Where was he taking her? All the customers were sitting out there.  
  
Eventually they stopped at a door, the hostess opened it for them and led them in. "I hope it meets your expectations Mr. Malfoy," she said. "The dinner should be coming momentarily." Then she left and shut the door behind her. Ginny and Malfoy were alone.  
  
He let go of her hand and walked over to the center of the room where there was a table and two chairs. He went behind one of them and pulled it out. She stood there and watched him, wondering why he wasn't sitting down. Then he looked up at her and gestured to the chair that he had pulled out. 'Oh, he pulled it out for me...' she thought to herself before walking over and sitting down.  
  
When she was finally seated Malfoy walked around the table and sat opposing her. "As you can tell, I have took the liberty of pre-ordering the meal. It's a specialty made for my family. Just one of the many perks of being a Malfoy."  
  
For as nice as he had been acting, he was still a smug little bastard. She was struggling between her desire to tell him off and to be kind so she could get her story. It was a hard decision to make because as much as she wanted that promotion and to see the look on Drac- Malfoy's face when he found out, it was still oh so tempting to scream excessive profanities at him and then punch him. Hermione had already gotten her chance to do that in her third year, so why can't Ginny also have that luxury?  
  
She decided to ignore his comment and look about the room that had been apparently 'specially prepared' just for them. The ceiling was the same, with the stars in the night sky, but there were trees in this room along with white lights on them. They reminded her of the kind Hermione had for her Christmas tree last year.  
  
She then turned her eyes to the table in front of her. There was a white cloth over it, and there were red rose petals sprinkled over the table. There were two red candles separating Ginny's and Malfoy's sides of the table, and both of them had a glass and a cloth napkin.  
  
"It's beautiful," Ginny stated truthfully. The place was a sight, and extremely romantic, but she just wished that she could have been sharing it with someone... well with someone who wasn't Malfoy. Someone who wasn't evil or a Death Eater. She put on a mischievous smile and then looked Malfoy in his grey eyes while pulling a piece of her bleached hair behind her ear. "Do you always try to impress a girl with how much money you have on the first date?"  
  
"No, I don't need to use money to impress a girl. I mean look at me," he retorted with a mischievous sparkle in his eyes.  
  
She knew that he was joking, but she also knew that he actually was conceited so he could believe what he was saying. How was it physically possible for one man to be so conceited anyway? He desperately needed someone to deflate that large ego of his. It's a pity that she had to make him like her, she could have had fun toying with him. "So tell me, does it work?" she innocently responded.  
  
"You tell me."  
  
She flashed another smile in response. If only he knew...  
  
Soon food appeared on their plates and a red liquid in their glasses. As Ginny placed the cloth napkin on her lap, she looked down at her plate and saw what was the most perfect looking meal ever. It looked so perfect that it seemed fake, like it was out of an advertisement or something.  
  
The main course consisted of duck covered with some sort of gravy, vegetables, and rice. When she began to eat it she realized something, this meal was as good as the review said it would be. In fact, even better.  
  
"It's good." she commented after taking a sip of the wine.  
  
Malfoy did not seem at all surprised. He swallowed the piece of meat he was chewing on and replied, "I knew you would."  
  
"Do you think you know everything?" she asked. Because you sure act like you do.  
  
"No," he answered to her surprise. That is until he added, "but close enough."  
  
"I see. Well, if you know so much, then tell me what I'm thinking right now." You can be such an arrogant pinhole Malfoy. Yes, pinhole...  
  
"You are thinking about how attractive you think I look in my new robes," he said, laughing. "Want to know what I'm thinking?"  
  
No! "Sure, but I have an idea of what that might be myself."  
  
"And what might that be?"  
  
"How attractive you think I look in my new robes."  
  
"Funny. I was thinking how much you seemed to enjoy the Quidditch game today."  
  
"Oh, yes I did. That is until our team" Did I really just say our team? There is no 'our'! "my team lost."  
  
"So, you ever play Quidditch on a team or anything?"  
  
"No," she lied. The truth was that she was on Gryffindor's team as a Beater. "I have always had a fascination with the sport, but I never had the chance to actually play it. How about you?" She knew the answer to this question already, but she had to let him have some amusement by doing something that he seemed to enjoy, listen to his own voice.  
  
"Yes. I was the Seeker for my team back in school," he answered. "I could take you flying some time. I have a brand new Firebolt 2000."  
  
Ginny was shocked. That broom hadn't even arrived in stores yet and she should know, she followed this type of thing very closely. If she saved money, then she calculated that it would take her about a year before she would be able to purchase one of her own. Until then she could always window shop, but not until the broom is released to the stores. How had he gotten his hands on one? Oh right, he was a Malfoy...  
  
Wanting to test out the broom herself, she decided to take him up on his offer. "That would be great. I heard they won't be coming out in stores for another year."  
  
"Well, my father was able to pull some strings."  
  
Then it was time for dessert. Their dirty plates disappeared and in there place was a white plate with a slice of chocolate cake on it. Ginny took a delightful bite. Just as she had suspected the cake tasted as good as it looked. I have my cake and I'm eating it too. She lightly chuckled to herself. Did I mention she was also the type of person who could easily amuse herself?  
  
She savored the entire meal, including the dessert, because she knew that she would be going back to eating the food that she could actually afford. It was a shame that the only people with money were ones that she couldn't stand. It was a mystery.  
  
After dessert the plates disappeared yet again, and both Ginny and Malfoy were full. Ginny was about to stand up, but Malfoy got up and pulled out her chair for her. Where had he learned manners? She pondered on that as she stood up and took Malfoy's hand when it was offered to her.  
  
They left the restaurant and began walking. He must have paid the bill ahead of time. She had to give him props, he knew how to plan ahead and put together the perfect date. She wondered how such a prick could be so different when he was on a date. Yes, he was still arrogant and egotistical, but he was also polite and used manners of which Ginny thought had been forgotten by everyone of the male species. It must be the rich upbringing.  
  
"Impressed yet?" Malfoy asked, referring back to earlier when she had asked him about using money to impress girls.  
  
The truth was, even though she would not like to admit it, she was impressed. The game, the manners, the beautiful dinner setting, the scrumptious dinner itself, how handsome he looked that night... Wait, did I just think that Malfoy is handsome? Ahh!!!!  
  
She shrugged off the thought, telling herself that it was just a strange reaction from her romantic surroundings of that evening. She could give a rat's arse what Malfoy did and did not look like. So what if he could seem, erm, good-looking to most people, she had Harry and was only using Malfoy. And I can't wait to see his face when he reads the front cover of Warts where my lovely article will be exposing him and his family for who they truly are and the many atrocities I am sure they committed, or at least the ones I can prove.  
  
Eventually they stopped outside of another building. The doorman greeted Malfoy and for a couple minutes the two of them just stood there until Malfoy broke the silence and turned Ginny's attention from thinking of her master plan to listening to him.  
  
"Want to come up for some coffee?" he asked nonchalantly.  
  
"I'm not the type of girl who goes up to someone's apartment on the first date," she replied. She did not want to seem to eager to go up because then he might get the wrong impression about her. Plus playing hard to get was so much more fun, especially when she knew that there was no 'getting of the Ginny' to be had. In addition to those reasons, the offer was appealing. She would get a chance to search his place while sipping her favorite beverage, the beloved coffee.  
  
"It's just coffee."  
  
"Just coffee?" she innocently responded.  
  
"Just coffee."  
  
Ginny smiled in reply as a yes and took hold of his left arm. Then he led her onto the red carpet and into his apartment building.  
  
A/N: Same as always, review.  
  
Catmint- Thanks. Yeah, Ron is the sort of person who would buy stuff like that. 


	6. Just Coffee

Chapter 6  
  
After getting into an elevator and going up several floors, they exited out into his apartment. 'He gets his own floor! Figures...' Ginny looked around Malfoy's apartment, or more like just the living room section that she was in, which she noticed was the size of her whole apartment put together. 'How much space does one man need?'  
  
On the left he had a bar, and on the right were chairs and a couch. There was an opening to the kitchen over near the bar, and a little dining area right outside of it. Up ahead was a small narrow hallway with three doors, one that she supposed was the bathroom, another his bedroom, and the third could have been anything.  
  
The carpet was black and the walls were painted a shade of green. Covering the walls were tapestries and several pictures depicting scenes from several Quidditch games. 'And don't forget the large creepy painting of, guess who? Malfoy.' Ginny thought to herself, rolling her eyes at the painting. 'He could have been more original with that one.' The picture had him dressed in black robes with his blonde hair slicked back, oddly resembling Dracula, and his signature smirk across his face.  
  
"I'll be right back," he said. "Make yourself comfortable."  
  
She took a seat on the black leather couch in the living room as Malfoy headed off into his kitchen to prepare the coffee. Ginny was surprised because she figured that he would have a house elf there to do that sort of thing for him. He was the type of guy who didn't even butter his own bagel. 'He probably never made a cup of coffee in his life. It's sad, actually.' So she took this time alone in his living room to do some snooping.  
  
She looked around, shuffled through the newspapers, magazines and other things that were scattered over his coffee table, but it was to no avail. She stood up, pretending to stretch, and looked around the room to see if there was anything there. 'Hmm... He probably keeps that stuff in his bedroom or office if he has one...'  
  
Malfoy was in the kitchen, fiddling with his coffee maker. 'How the hell do they do this?' he pondered, wishing that he hadn't given his house elf the day off. Being used to having everything done for him, he didn't know to work the things that his servants used.  
  
While he was having difficulties in his kitchen, Ginny grew tired of inspecting his living room and needed an excuse to enter the hallway and sneak into his room. She walked a little way so she was closer to the kitchen and she called out, "Can I use your bathroom?"  
  
Still trying to figure out how to make the damn coffee and muttering things to himself under his breath, he looked up for a moment from what he was doing and replied, "Sure. It's the first room down the hall on the right."  
  
"Thanks." she said and turned to enter the hall. She peeked in the rooms and tiptoed down to where a door was slightly open. She pushed it and slipped inside the room. 'Big bed, green silk sheets, serpents carved onto the wood, a large mirror... Yeah, this is definitely the ferret-boy's bedroom.' She glanced about the room, thinking about how much it screamed Malfoy. 'Maybe they have personal interior designers for the whole family.'  
  
There was a small black desk near the door from which she entered. She looked over the things on it, and attempted at opening the drawer. Spotting a letter opener, she grabbed it and used it to pry open the drawer. She shuffled through the papers in a hurry, looking for anything that seemed important. Then she luckily came across a letter from his father, which she placed in her pocket and then continued searching. That was all she found at that desk.  
  
She went through the rest of that half of the room, unsuccessful in her search. She sat down on his bed for a second, taking a quick rest, and discovering that his bed was very comfortable. 'Damn Malfoy and his damn comfortable beds...' she thought to herself, still looking about the room. 'I wonder why he doesn't have any pictures of family or friends...'  
  
Then over by the wall she spotted another desk, and on top of it was the briefcase from the previous day at the coffee shop. She jumped up at the hopeful site and ran over to the desk. She attempted opening the briefcase, but was unsuccessful in her efforts. 'Now why does he have to go and lock his briefcase? I swear he lives to make my life difficult...'  
  
'I need something to open it with. Where is a crowbar when you need one?' Then she caught a glimpse of something under the bed that looked silver. She went over to the bed and kneeled down, trying to reach whatever the object was. She almost had it when...  
  
"Lost?" a voice said from behind her.  
  
Ginny looked up to see none other than Malfoy himself and tried to maintain her calm. Her eyes shot from Malfoy to the bed and back to Malfoy again. Still kneeling, she placed both her hands on the bed and started pushing down on the mattress. "Yup, it's sturdy," she said to no one in particular and then stood up, brushing off her jeans. I just wanted to see where I am going to be sleeping in the future." Hopefully that would save her.  
  
Malfoy grinned at this remark. Does he ever do anything besides grin? "You are sure of yourself, aren't you?"  
  
"Uh... yeah, that's it." she replied, letting her breath out that she had been holding. Right when she was getting to something good he had to go and spoil it for her. 'That was a close one.'  
  
"The coffee is ready, in the other room."  
  
"Good." she said with a short smile and then left the room first, with Malfoy closing the door behind them. The coffee was sitting on the coffee table in front of the couch that she had sat on earlier. She took a seat, picking up one of the cups and taking a large gulp.  
  
Malfoy took a seat beside her, picking up the cup that was left on the table. "I didn't know if you took cream or sugar, so I didn't put any in."  
  
"That's ok. I like my coffee black." she replied. The coffee was mediocre, but better than she thought any Malfoy was capable of making on their own.  
  
"Me too."  
  
'But of course, to go with your black heart...' Maybe Ginny was feeling a little hostile at that moment, but it was only because she had to go on more dates with Malfoy in order to get that briefcase open. She had a feeling that it contained something very important to her mission. "We have a lot in common," she commented, in her mind thinking 'God must be some twisted person for making us have anything in common'.  
  
"I am interested in finding out what else we have in common as well."  
  
'Oh shit, now he is coming on to me. Must find an escape!' She glanced down at her watch. It was quarter past nine.  
  
"Something wrong?" he asked, noticing her change in expression.  
  
"Yes! I mean no..."  
  
"Which is it?"  
  
"It's just that I forgot that I have to get up early tomorrow for... an interview. That's it, an interview. So I can't stay out late. Sorry." she responded. It was the first excuse she could come up with, other than having to feed pets that she doesn't have.  
  
"Oh, that's fine."  
  
She stood up and sat the coffee down on the table. "So I better go now. The coffee was great, really, and the restaurant and everything was nice. I had a good time. Owl me and we can go out again sometime," she awkwardly said before heading off to the elevator.  
  
"Alright then." Malfoy said to himself. He took another drink of his coffee and wondered what had gotten into her.  
  
Ginny left the building with the guards and doormen giving her odd looks as she walked out of the building fast, trying to get away as fast as her legs would take her. When she was out on the sidewalk she began to walk slower, but was still speed walking. She wanted to get home and take a shower. A nice long shower to wash away the stench of Malfoy hitting on her.  
  
At the pace she was walking she made it back to her apartment building in less than fifteen minutes, although normally it would have been twice the time or more. She ran up the stair, skipping steps on the way, and then made it to her door. 'It's good to be home'.  
  
It heard noise coming from the inside. Wondering what it was, she put her key in the lock and turned the knob to open the door. She flicked the switch for the light and closed the door behind her. She set her bag down on the table along with her keys and turned to where the noise was coming from.  
  
The television was on. 'That's weird. I could have sworn I turned it off before I left' she thought to herself, picking up the remote and turning it off. Then her head turned to look at the couch. Her eyes widened in surprise at the sight. Harry was asleep on her couch. 'He must be back'. Ginny had given him a key to her place a little while back.  
  
She smiled and stood there for a moment looking at him. He was curled up, and even though she knew he had fought off the Dark Lord many times, too many to count, he looked completely innocent. His black hair covered part of his face, and his head was resting on a blue pillow. She decided not to wake him because he looked so peaceful and content.  
  
As she walked over to her bedroom, she heard someone yawning. He had woken up himself. She wondered how long he had been asleep on her couch. "Ginny? Hi, I was just waiting for you to get home. I missed you."  
  
She turned to face him and replied, "I missed you too. I thought you wouldn't be back for a couple more days. How was work?"  
  
"Same as always," he said, getting up from the couch and walking over to where she was standing. "How have you been?"  
  
"Fine," she answered, giving him a quick kiss and entering her bedroom. "I'm tired. I just want to take a quick shower and go to bed. You don't have to sleep on the couch, you know," Ginny got into the shower and couldn't help but feeling guilty. She had been out with Malfoy while her boyfriend was at her apartment waiting for her. He hadn't even asked where she had been. She couldn't wait to get this article over with.  
  
A/N: Thanks to my lovely reviewers! You rock! And yet again the same two words as usual: please review.  
  
Catmint- Yes he is. Thanks, I try my best to keep him in character.  
  
Keikoku- I never pictured Ginny as a really girly girl. Thanks for the review.  
  
Felton118- Thanks.  
  
Voldeon's Dragon- Thank you! 


	7. Ginny Weasley?

Chapter 7  
  
The next morning Ginny woke up and to her surprise Harry wasn't there. She slipped out of bed, got dressed, and left her bedroom to see where he went. She found him in the kitchen, making them both a breakfast of eggs, bacon, and sausage. When he saw her he smiled and said, "Good morning. I'm just making something to eat. Figured you'd be hungry and we all know you can't cook."  
  
They both laughed and Ginny replied, "Remember when I tried to cook dinner for us all once and I gave Ron food poisoning by accident?"  
  
"Yeah, almost too well. Good thing Hermione was there. How are they anyway?" he asked inquisitively, curious of what his close friends of almost nine years were up to.  
  
"They are doing great. Oh, Hermione wants to see you. You should go visit Ron and her tomorrow while I desperately try to finish my work." Ginny suggested, stealing a strip of bacon and then pouring herself a glass of pumpkin juice.  
  
Harry kept glancing from his cooking back to Ginny. She had caught on and so she asked, "Is there a problem?"  
  
"I'm still trying to process you with blonde hair in my mind. You look good with it."  
  
Harry finished making breakfast, and then served the food out onto two plates. Ginny was about to sit down and dig in when she heard a light rapping at her window. "I'll go see what it is." she said as she walked over.  
  
She opened her shades and looked out. There was a black raven outside her window, and she was about to close the shades again, but it kept rapping. Then she noticed there was a little scroll attached to it, so she opened the window and took it off the bird. Without any hesitation the raven flew off promptly when she took the scroll. 'What a rude animal' she thought and closed her window once more. She stood there and opened up the scroll to see what it was about.  
  
"What was it?" she heard from the kitchen.  
  
"Oh, I just received a letter from someone. That's all." she answered.  
  
Then she read:  
  
Dear Paige,  
  
I'm just writing to remind you about our plans for tomorrow.  
  
'Since when did we have plans for tomorrow?'  
  
Meet me at Malfoy Park,  
  
'Malfoy Park, as known as the land that Mr. Malfoy bought and only made into a park so that they could not build a store there that specializes in Muggle items that 'Mudbloods' would buy...'  
  
I'm sure you already know where it is but in case you don't then you can owl me back and I'll send directions. I'll meet you there at ten o'clock. I'll show you my new Firebolt 2000. See you then, don't be late.  
  
Draco Malfoy  
  
'No wonder it was a rude raven, it was Malfoy's! Stupid prat...'  
  
"Everything alright?" Harry asked after swallowing the eggs he was chewing on and taking a large gulp of pumpkin juice.  
  
"Yes, everything is fine." Ginny replied, rolling the scroll back up and sticking it in her pocket before heading back to the kitchen to begin eating her breakfast. Now she would have to see him again, that one letter from his father would not be enough evidence to go on. Although, she could get started on her piece, which is what she was planning to do that day.  
  
"Good. I'm taking you out to dinner tonight."  
  
Ginny looked up at him surprised. Two dinners at restaurants two nights in a row, what more could a Weasley ask for? "What's the occasion?"  
  
"Does a man need an occasion to take his girlfriend out to dinner?" he asked in response while pushing up his black glasses that were sliding down his nose.  
  
She didn't say anything, but smiled and then picked up both of their dishes and cups to put them in the sink.  
  
She spent most of the day working on the story while Harry was watching television and talking to Hermione on the phone. Ginny read the letter that she took some time trying to find, she forgot that she put it in her jean pocket and then after she remembered that she had to figure out where she put her jeans. Eventually she found them in her hamper and the letter was safely folded and waiting for her in the back pocket.  
  
The letter wasn't very specific about anything. Lucious probably wrote it like that just in case someone else laid their hands on it. It inquired about Draco's 'current task' and how his 'recruiting' was going. At the end was a short reminder about a dinner party that his parents were going to host at the Malfoy manor.  
  
Ginny frowned after re-reading the letter multiple times and then finally folding it back up and placing it carefully in a desk drawer. So far all that would give her to go on are accusations and implications, no solid factual evidence. She started writing some notes on the article and then she remembered that her book reviews were due in a couple of days.  
  
Instead of finishing the romance novel that she despised so much, she wrote the review from what she already knew about the book and then added that it had a 'surprise ending', a.k.a. she didn't read the end of the book. She out her reviews together, totaling eight books read in a week and a half. She stuck the work in her bag, and then decided it was time to get ready for going out.  
  
Ginny chose to dress nice, or rather what she thought constituted the word nice. She put on black dress pants along with a light blue blouse that went nicely with the blonde hair that she let flow down her shoulders. When she was ready she met Harry in the living room. He was wearing black pants with a red dress shirt that she had bought him for Christmas.  
  
He took her to a restaurant that they frequented together on special occasions. They were seated quickly, and received a table near the bathroom. They held the menus in their hands, scanning over the various dishes and trying to decide which one they wanted.  
  
"What are you getting?" Ginny asked with her eyes reading over the menu.  
  
"I'm not sure," Harry replied. "Maybe the steak."  
  
Five minutes both of them made up their minds and handed the menus back to the waiter when he came around. "Would you like to see the wine menu sir?"  
  
Harry looked from Ginny to the waiter and replied, "Yes I would, thank you." Then he took the wine menu from the waiter and skimmed over the choices of wine and picked one of the more expensive choices.  
  
"It's good spending time with you again." she said to him after the waiter left with their order and she took a sip of water. She meant every word. Harry had always been a great friend to her, and she remembered back to when she first met him and was simply Ron's little sister to him. She even sent him a Valentine. Now she was his girlfriend, which was kind of funny if she thought about it, and she knew that they would always be friends.  
  
"Same here."  
  
Meanwhile, a certain blonde with gray eyes entered the exact same restaurant. He was meeting up with some old friends from school for drinks. He entered the establishment without waiting simply by mentioning his name to the hostess, who immediately let him in despite the protest of the line that was rapidly forming.  
  
He made his way over to the bar and sat down on one of the stools. He turned to the bartender, ordered a shot, and then turned around again to look for his friends. He easily spotted the two rather large figures in the crowd and shouted over to them, "Crabbe! Goyle! Over here!"  
  
In fact, there was no real reason why he was meeting up with them. They had never really been what most people would consider friends, he only was with them because they were big and stupid and gladly took the position of his two bodyguards without realizing it. Nonetheless, he liked having his own mindless minions. Another trait of being a Malfoy was desire for power, and he enjoyed having power over others, and so he shamelessly dropped his name wherever he went to receive all the commodities offered to Malfoys out of fear.  
  
The two goons walked over to where he was sitting and they both took a seat on either side of Malfoy. They ordered their own drinks and soon each one of them had a drink in front of them. Crabbe and Goyle were arguing over some nonsense while Draco's eyes scanned the room.  
  
'Hey, that looks like Potter over there.' The black haired man with glasses shifted so he could see him better. His hair moved and revealed a scar on his forehead the shape of a lightening bolt. 'That is Scarhead Potter. They must be starting to let all sorts of people in here now, and to think it used to be a respectable restaurant.' He took finally took the shot of firewhiskey and then looked back over to Potter's table.  
  
"What do you think Draco?" Goyle asked him, switching his eyes from Crabbe to Draco.  
  
'And look he's with a girl. Maybe Potty is finally getting lucky. A blonde at that, what kind of blonde would stoop so low?' he thought to himself, ignoring the man next to him.  
  
"Draco?" Goyle asked again, wondering why he wasn't receiving a response.  
  
'Wait a bloody minute, that's Paige. What is she doing with him?' This Malfoy was confused, and getting angry. He stood up and began walking over there. A waiter got in his way and so he pushed him to the side. He stopped walking and stood close enough to the table that he could hear their conversation.  
"Ginny-" Was the first thing he head Harry say.  
  
'Ginny? Ginny Weasley? What the bloody hell is going on here?'  
  
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A/N: Thanks for reviewing everyone! And please review because it gives me incentive to keep going.  
  
Catmint- Thanks. Yup, Harry does make the situation a bit more complicated.  
  
HollyMahogany- You'll see, but I'll just say that it won't be bad. Even though I'm an evil writer, I'm not that evil, lol.  
  
Stephanie- Thanks for the review. I'm glad you like it.  
  
blink182rawk- Well, considering it is a Ginny/Draco story one would think that something happens. So I guess you'll have to keep reading to find out! Mwa-ha-ha-ha!!  
  
jewels03- Thank you, I attempt to keep him in character. 


	8. Firebolt 2000

Chapter 8  
  
Ginny was rushing over to her favorite coffee shop, which happened to be the exact place she met Malfoy in. Harry was spending the day with Hermione, and Ron was going to join the two of them a little later. She was supposed to be meeting one of her brother's there to talk because he said that there was something important he had to discuss with her. So, they agreed to meet at that establishment at eight thirty in the morning. She was half an hour late.  
  
As she made her way across the street and into the shop, she easily spotted her tall redheaded brother sitting at a table near the door. He looked anxious and kept glancing at the clock. He had a large coffee in front of him and he was not paying attention to the people entering and leaving through the front door.  
  
"Hey. Sorry I'm late." Ginny said as she took a seat across the table from him.  
  
"I have gone through three of these already just waiting for you." he replied, picking up the large coffee that was sitting in front of him.  
  
"So Ron, what is the emergency? You sounded nervous on the phone."  
  
His eyes moved from looking at the table to look into his sister's ocean blue eyes. "I need your help with something..."  
  
"And what would that be?"  
  
"Well, see, I think I'm ready to be married and I love Hermione. I already bought the engagement ring, but I don't know how to propose to her. What if she says no?"  
  
"That's wonderful!" Ginny exclaimed. She had been waiting for this day, knowing very well that one day her best friend and her brother would be married. She was also aware of her brother's insecurities and exactly what Hermione's reaction was going to be when he proposed. "And she won't say no. Hermione loves you. Do you have the ring on you?"  
  
"Yeah." he said, setting the coffee down and pulling a small black box out of his pocket. He then handed it to his sister.  
  
She opened the box, which revealed a white gold ring with one diamond on it. The diamond was reflecting the light coming from outside the window next to them. "It's pretty. She is going to love it. Who helped you pick it out?" She knew that Ron had horrible taste in everything he bought and she was expecting him to show her some gaudy ring that she would force him to return and then pick out a different ring.  
  
"The lady at the store. She said it was a popular choice," Ron admitted. "I was going to get a different one, but she said that it wasn't appropriate as an engagement ring."  
  
"It's perfect," she replied, closing the box and handing back over to him. She could just picture that scene in her head, Ron trying to buy an ugly ring and the saleslady trying to convince him that it wasn't an engagement ring. She looked up at him. "What's the problem?"  
  
"How do I do it?"  
  
"Do what?" she absent-mindedly asked in return.  
  
"Propose?" Annoyance and desperation were in his voice.  
  
"Oh, right. You could do it the traditional way and just get down on one knee and then say 'Will you marry me'."  
  
"You make it sound like it's the easiest thing in the world," he said. "You are a girl. How would you like to be proposed to?"  
  
"Hmm... well I always thought it would be cool if it happened at a Quidditch match over the loud speaker, but that is just me. Hermione would want something different. You should do something romantic. Dinner by candlelight, under the night sky, music playing softly in the background, just the two of you... and then propose." she said. When she was describing her suggestion her tone of voice changed to a soft dreamy one, and then quickly back to her normal tone.  
  
Her train of thought brought her back to the dinner with Malfoy. It had been so perfect, if it wasn't for whom she was there with. She stopped herself from thinking about Malfoy any longer. It was bad enough that she was supposed to meet him soon, but now she was thinking about him too. He certainly knew how to use his money to impress people, and it would have worked on her if she didn't already know what kind of person he was. Or at least she thought she knew what kind of person he was.  
  
"That sounds nice. Do you think she would like it?" he asked, not noticing Ginny's trip down memory lane.  
  
"Of course she would. If she doesn't say yes, which I am about ninety-nine point nine percent positive she will, then there must be something wrong with her."  
  
"You are sure?"  
  
"Ron, I'm your sister. Trust me for once."  
  
They sat there talking for a little bit. Ron began talking enthusiastically about the new yellow couch he bought, which Hermione told her about a couple days ago. She laughed, remembering back to their conversation on the phone. He was obviously oblivious to the fact that Hermione detested the couch so much. He talked about how Harry and Hermione were the ones who had no taste because they did not see how the couch was a good investment.  
  
"I'm telling you brightly colored couches are going to be big." Ron insisted, defending his odd sense of taste.  
  
"Whatever you say."  
  
Time sped by and soon Ginny glanced at the clock realizing that it was ten. She was supposed to be at Malfoy Park at ten and it would take her some time to get there. She was going to be late. She quickly said her goodbyes to her brother, throwing in some reassurances and then heading out the door.  
  
When she made it to the park she looked around. At first she thought he had left because she was late, but then she saw him in the air with his new broom. She watched him as he flew, wondering why she had never noticed how good he was as flying. He was no Harry, you couldn't even compare the two, but he was still pretty damn good.  
  
After several minutes he must have spotted her because he landed. He walked towards her with his broom in one hand and his other arm at his side. He stopped walking several feet ahead of her and stood with his arm resting on the broom. "You are fifteen minutes late."  
  
"I know. I lost track of time," she replied. "You aren't too bad at that."  
  
"Tell me something I don't know."  
  
She smiled and then said, "Camels have three eyelids."  
  
"Are you on some sort of medication that I should know about?" he asked, giving her a strange look like she was crazy.  
  
"You said tell you something you don't know. I bet you didn't know that," she responded, an innocent smile still on her face. "Are you going to show me your broom or are you going to call an insane asylum to take me away?"  
  
Within the next five minutes Ginny found herself holding on to Malfoy as they flew around the park on the Firebolt 2000. She had been right about the muscles, she could feel his abs with her arms. It was fast, and a lot better then the original. She was jealous that he had something when it would take her years to get the same thing.  
  
It was a different experience. The only brooms she had ever flown on were hand-me-downs from her brothers, like everything she had. She loved the rush of it all, the feeling you get when the wind is blowing through your hair and the sense of freedom that you feel when you are in the air. It was like none other. Once again she was sharing a wonderful experience with her enemy, but as much as that bothered her she tried to forget who the person in front of her was and enjoy the ride while it lasted.  
  
Afterwards they took a short walk around the park, which she had always thought was just a reminder of the power of the Malfoy name. It was actually a surprisingly peaceful place. She was ashamed to admit it, but she was having a good time. "I have to get myself one of those."  
  
"So, you wouldn't happen to have any brothers, would you?" Malfoy asked, changing the topic slyly as they walked.  
  
Ginny suddenly felt cautious. Why would he ask such a question? People normally wouldn't ask something so specific. That is unless he knew who she was and was therefore toying with her. Her mind decided to jump to conclusions. 'He knows! If he knows and he doesn't know that I know that he knows then maybe I can still use this to my advantage... right?'  
  
"No. I am an only child." she quickly lied, playing it off cool. He wasn't going to break her that easily. This blonde wasn't that dumb. "Why do you ask?"  
  
"Just curious. That's all," he answered. He was one good liar she had to admit. Plus he changed topics like a snap. "What are you planning to wear?"  
  
"Wear where?" she asked, having no idea where that question came from.  
  
"To dinner tomorrow night. I have a surprise for you." he replied nonchalantly. He was doing it yet again; making plans without asking her first. What, did he think that she had absolutely no life so she would plan her non-existent life around him?  
  
"Uh... clothes." she said. The good thing was that she could get another shot at going through his apartment, and this time she was going to have her wand handy to open certain briefcases.  
  
She was going to meet him at his apartment the following day at six. For now she was hurrying back to her own place, confused and annoyed. She knew that he knew, and why he wasn't confronting her about it was the question that puzzled her mind.  
  
She went straight to her phone after entering her apartment. She dialed the memorized number and then listened to the ringing, awaiting someone to pick it up and talk. After four rings the phone was picked up and a familiar voice answered. Ginny responded, "Hi, Hermione. I need to talk."  
  
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A/N: Finally the eight chapter. Please review and I'll get the next one out sooner than I did with this one.  
  
GoldenFawkes- Yeah, it makes everything more complicated. Thank you!  
  
HoVis- Oops. Thanks for reviewing. As for Lucius escaping Azkaban, the story doesn't go into detail about that.  
  
remedios- Thanks for the review. I'm glad you like it.  
  
jewels03- :-)  
  
Catmint- Thanks for pointing that out to me, I'm bad with spelling. 


	9. She Knows He Knows

Chapter 9  
  
"Ginny? What is it? Are you alright?" was the worried response that she received from the other end of the phone line.  
  
Ginny needed advice and someone to talk to. So, logically and yet at the same time illogically, she called her best friend who happened to be the voice of reason. It was only a coincidence that her best friend also happened to be her boyfriend's best friend. What a small world.  
  
"Can you promise not to tell anyone what I am about to confide to you?" she asked. Hermione was good at keeping promises, depending on the circumstances. What Ginny was going to talk to her about was not one of them, or at least it didn't seem like one.  
  
"Yes, of course. Now, what is it?" her friend replied.  
  
"Not even Harry?"  
  
"I promise I won't tell anyone."  
  
"Ok, well it all started about four days ago..." Ginny began to relay the situation to Hermione. She explained about her boss giving her a month to get another story, meeting Malfoy at the coffee house, getting an idea for the story, the dates, and everything that had happened in the past five days. After she was done there was a silence.  
  
"Wow. I have to tell you I wasn't expecting that." Hermione's voice eventually broke the silence.  
  
"What were you expecting?"  
  
"I don't know, but definitely not that."  
  
"You aren't mad, are you?" The last thing she needed was her best friend mad at her. She had been hoping for a more helpful reaction instead of upsetting her.  
  
"No, just a little confused," was the response she received. Ginny felt more relieved, she hadn't been sure if talking to Hermione would be a good idea. "So is there anything else you wanted to talk to me about?"  
  
"Yes, actually. Well, the problem is that I think he knows who I really am." she replied.  
  
"Who knows?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Malfoy."  
  
"Right. Why do you think that?"  
  
"Because I can just tell. He asked me if I had any brothers, in a way that implied he thought I did. I could tell by the tone of his voice." she answered. It seemed obvious to her, either that or she was just paranoid and her conscious was trying to freak her out. But, even if that was so, she still had to consider the fact that he knows or will find out.  
  
"Oh. So he doesn't know you know he knows?"  
  
"No." Or at least that was what she thought.  
  
"Are you sure?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Hmm..."  
  
"So, I don't get why he is going along with everything. You think he would freak out and never talk to me again or something. What do you think?"  
  
"I think that you have gotten yourself into a mess that only you can fix," her friend answered matter-of-factly. "Maybe he is waiting to see if you will confess. Or maybe he wants you to know that he knows to see what you do about it. You can't trust him, he is bad news."  
  
"I know. Hmm... you might be right, yet again."  
  
"Promise me one thing Ginny."  
  
"What?"  
  
"That you will be careful. He is a Deatheater. Keep that in mind."  
  
"I know, Hermione. I doubt that he would want to waste his time killing me though, so if I was you I wouldn't worry about it."  
  
"Just remember that when you are with him."  
  
"I will. So what do you think I should do?"  
  
"Get your story and then get out."  
  
That was exactly what Ginny wanted to do from the beginning. Why was she making a big deal out of the situation? All she had to do was go to his apartment tomorrow, get the evidence she needed, and then it would be over. Her plan was as easy as pie.  
  
They talked some more, forgetting about the Malfoy fiasco, and then gradually the conversation moved from topic to topic at random. It was amazing how long two friends could talk without getting bored or running out of things to say.  
  
"So, you saw Ron earlier today, right?" Hermione asked her.  
  
"Yeah. Why?" Ginny replied, wondering why that would be of any importance. Hermione should have known that they met up that morning, and what did it matter anyhow?  
  
"I was wondering if you knew why Ron was acting so strange lately."  
  
"How so?" She knew her brother acted weird from time to time, that was just his character, but if anyone knew why it would be either her or Harry.  
  
"Well, at lunch today he said he had to talk to me about something, and then his face turned red and he started sweating. He said 'Is it just me or is it hot in here?' and it was freezing in there too. Then he just got up and ran to the restroom muttering to himself," Hermione described. "I don't know what is wrong. Do you think he wants to break up with me?"  
  
Ginny started laughing uncontrollably. Hermione thought that Ron wanted to break up with her when he was just acting that way out of nervousness of proposing. It all seemed too funny for Ginny to handle.  
  
"What? What is so funny?" Hermione asked, utterly confused.  
  
She tried to sustain her laughter and then replied, "Believe me, Ron is definitely not going to break up with you."  
  
"What is wrong with him then?"  
  
"You will find out soon enough, but I'm going to go so I'll call you later." Ginny answered, not wanting to spoil the surprise.  
  
"Ok. Bye." Then the phone clicked and she set it down.  
  
Time flew by and then soon it was the next day and time for Ginny to get ready for her "date" with Malfoy. She packed her purse, being sure to slip her wand in it. Then she threw on a random black and red skirt and a white shirt. As usual, she wore no make-up with the exceptional of a little black eyeliner, and then left her blonde hair half up and half down.  
  
Next she set off, remembering exactly how to get to Malfoy's expensive apartment. The doorman let her in after she explained that he was expecting her, and then strolled over to the elevator and pressed the button for level six.  
  
'What a coincidence that he lives on level six and 666 is the devil's number.' Ginny thought to herself as she felt the elevator slowly moving upwards.  
  
Eventually it stopped and opened, revealing the darkness of his apartment. She looked around from where she was standing, wondering in which dark corner he was hiding, and then said, "Hello?"  
  
A shadow moved from out of the kitchen and replied, "Hi. Set down your coat and take a seat at the table."  
  
"I thought we were going out for dinner?" she asked, a bit confused.  
  
"We are eating here. Dinner will be out in a minute. Make yourself comfortable." With that he went back into the kitchen and left her alone.  
  
Ginny's eyes moved over to the dining area where she saw the table and floating candles all over the room. The table had a dark green tablecloth over it, and there were two place settings of fine china along with two wine glasses and a bottle in a bucket of ice.  
  
She set her coat and purse down on his couch, and then proceeded to walk over and sit at the table. She knew that there was no way he cooked them dinner. He had most likely never cooked a day in his life. So, where was he hiding his house elf?  
  
'This must be his surprise' she thought, looking around and taking a sip of the wine that had already been poured into her glass. 'How original...'  
  
Meanwhile Malfoy was in the kitchen. Ten minutes ago he ordered his house elf to stay in her room and be quiet. She was the one after all who made the meal, but he didn't want Ginny to know that. Yes, he knew that Paige Weathorton was really Ginny Weasley. He had overcome the shock, still not knowing exactly why she was pretending to be someone else, and decided to play at her game.  
  
He smirked, knowing that she was sitting out there waiting for him. He knew she knew he knew who she was, and he was going to have some fun messing with the natural redhead. Everything was going according to plan.  
  
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A/N: Sorry for the long wait, but the FanFic Admin suspended my account for one of my stories and they wouldn't let me update. So you get two chapters at once. I already responded to mostly everyone's reviews in the previous chapter, but here's the rest.  
  
erbsenpueree- Glad you like the story.  
  
PLEASE REVIEW!! 


	10. What?

Chapter 10  
  
When Malfoy entered the room holding the main course in one hand and a bowl of salad in the other he caught Ginny sitting harmlessly at the table twirling a piece of blonde hair with her fingers and occasionally taking sips of wine.  
  
He paused for a moment, inspecting her and thinking about how much she had changed since school. He hadn't recognized her at the coffee house, and truthfully if he had he would have either ignored her or go over to insult her. Actually, he kind of liked spending time with her; she was definitely a change from the stuck-up girls he was supposed to be dating.  
  
'And she sure is beautiful... wait, did I just think that! Damn you Draco! You are supposed to be a Malfoy, start acting like one!' With that last thought he mentally slapped himself and resumed to continue walking in and setting down the food.  
  
Ginny looked up at him for a second and said, "Mmm, smells good." She had studied his apparel, seeing that he was wearing black pants and a long sleeved dark green shirt. He matched his apartment, and she found it funny.  
  
'Well it's a feast compared to what your family used to feed you' he thought, but restrained himself from saying it. With a fake smile he replied, "It's roast turkey. Do you like the wine? I wasn't sure if you like red or white better, so I just chose red."  
  
"Red is my favorite." she responded. Ginny found that she had a lot more in common with a Malfoy then she should. It was scary. They both liked their coffee black, both preferred red wine over white, both loved Quidditch, and there was probably more things they had in common as well...  
  
...but that would not stop her from what she had to do. If everything worked out then this would be their last date and she would never have to see him again, except for his picture on the front page of the newspaper along with her article.  
  
Malfoy sat down across from her and began to fill both of their plates with food. For the first several minutes neither of them said anything. Ginny was beginning to feel uncomfortable and she felt the need to break the silence.  
  
"So..." She sat straight up, smoothed a cloth napkin over her lap, and then picked up a fork with one hand and a knife with the other. She always, or at least most of the time, felt awkward when it was quiet and no one talked. Especially when it was her and him, and when they were sitting in romantic settings getting ready to eat dinner. This type of situation happened all too often when it shouldn't have been happening at all.  
  
"Yes?" he asked, looking up from his food and finding himself looking into her eyes.  
  
"How about them Vultures?" That was the first thing that came to her mind, of course it would be Quidditch -maybe that was why Harry and her got along so well together-, and so that was what she said before taking another long sip of wine.  
  
They found themselves in an intense discussion about Quidditch, both of them forgetting who they were with and acting like themselves.  
  
"And if the Chasers were faster and paid more attention to the game then they would win more often." Malfoy said between eating his dinner and keeping up the conversation.  
  
"I agree." The minute Ginny mouthed those two fatal words she snapped out of it and remembered that she was talking to her enemy. She had just openly agreed with something Malfoy said. If Ron and Harry were here for this then they would have been appalled. How could she actually like being around someone so rude, smug, and self-obsessed?  
  
Right when she was pulled back into reality so was Malfoy. Now that he knew who she was, he also knew that whatever this, erm, relationship was called it would not be able to last because it wasn't real to begin with. He was now only going along with it for fun and to see the expression on her face when she finds out that she isn't going to get a story. He knew that she knew he knew, after all that was why he dropped the question about brothers, to scare her. It was like a game, and Malfoy wanted to win.  
  
Ginny finished the rest of her dinner quietly, wondering what Malfoy was thinking. He was one person who was at times extremely hard to read; especially with those mysterious grey eyes that one could find themselves staring into without realizing it. That fact annoyed her. It would be so much easier for her to manipulate him if she could read his mind.  
  
'If only I knew how to work that spell...' she thought to herself, wishing that she had gotten it to work back in her sixth year. 'Hermione would know how to use it' she concluded; aware of the fact that Hermione was the best witch she ever met.  
  
They both stopped thinking and then glanced at each other. Ginny quickly looked back down again, and poured some more wine into her glass. It was her third glass and she was starting to feel more relaxed. Malfoy noticed that they were both done and excused himself to go put the dishes in his kitchen. So she sat there alone and decided to take this opportunity to do some valuable snooping.  
  
She set her glass back down, leaned back to see Malfoy in his kitchen, and then slipped out of her seat and entered the living room to pick up her purse. Luckily Malfoy was busy in the kitchen doing Merlin knows what, so she was able to continue with her spur of the moment idea.  
  
Next she tiptoed into his small hallway. She made her way quietly into his bedroom and looked at the desk that had originally held the briefcase. It was not there. As she made her way across the room she almost tripped on something that was sticking out from under his bed. She glanced down to see what is was and all she saw was the corner of something black. She kneeled down and then pulled out the mystery object from under his big bed. It was the black briefcase that she had been looking for.  
  
'Yes!' she exclaimed in her mind and set her purse down on the floor next to the briefcase. Then she slowly zipped open her purse and pulled out her wand. It wasn't the best, but it worked and so she used it. She muttered a spell to unlock the briefcase, and soon she heard a little click. Her spell had worked and she was able to open up the briefcase that she had wanted to look through ever since she first laid her eyes upon it.  
  
Before looking at the contents a thought came to her mind. This was all too easy. Malfoy was a clever wizard, he had come in second behind Hermione, even though he would like to deny it, and so he would be smart enough to put a spell on his briefcase so that other people could not open it. Why would he not do that? The whole situation seemed a bit suspicious, especially since she knew he knew about her, but did he know that she was looking for evidence against him?  
  
She quickly turned her attention back to the contents of the briefcase. There were a bunch of files and papers, along with some pictures. She flipped through them, not recognizing any, but then stopped when she got to the last one. It was a picture of Harry and her together walking down a street. Why would he have that?  
  
Ginny knew she had to hurry up so he wouldn't catch her again, and that is the reason why she shoved some of the pictures and papers into her purse and then re-closed his briefcase before pushing back under the bed the way she found it. By the time he realized the stuff was missing she would already have be long gone and busy finishing her lovely article. After all this work she hoped that there would even be an article. She could not let anything get in the way of her promotion. She picked up her purse, adjusted herself, and then slipped back out and into his living room.  
  
By the time Malfoy left his kitchen he found Ginny back in her seat like nothing had happened. He was holding two plates, each one holding a slice of chocolate cake, and then set them down on the table. He noticed she looked a bit flushed, but he didn't say anything. Instead he sat back down, poured them both more wine, as if they hadn't had enough already, and looked at her.  
  
"Look's good." Ginny said before taking a small bite of the cake. She fancied chocolate, like most girls do, and the cake was a good choice of dessert. Unfortunately she was too busy thinking about the picture she found to enjoy it.  
  
After they finished dessert Malfoy put on some music and they moved into the living room. He saw that her purse wasn't in the same place she left it, yet once again he kept his thoughts to himself. That was one problem with many people, they couldn't keep anything to themselves and that was how they always got themselves in trouble.  
  
They both sat next to each other on his black leather couch, once again, and they held their wine glasses in their hands. They sat there quietly for a bit, just listening to the soft music in the background and taking sips of their red wine.  
  
Then a light bulb lit up in Malfoy's head. He had an idea! He sat down his glass on the coffee table in front of him and turned to the blonde beside him. He grinned and then asked while offering out his right hand, "Care for a dance?"  
  
Ginny looked at him with mixed thoughts, but before she knew what had happened she found herself slow dancing with Malfoy in the middle of his living room. He had set down her glass for her and brought her out to dance with him all in less than a minute. Her mind processed what was going on, and in normal circumstances she would have panicked and left by now, but instead she went with the flow. After all, it was only one dance...  
  
Malfoy had one arm around her waist and another on her freckled hand. She had her right arm up and her hand resting on the back of his neck. While they danced she found it hard to believe that he was the same person she had gone to school with. He seemed so different, so relaxed, so... human and way too romantic.  
  
Or maybe that was what he wanted her to think, that he was really deep down a nice romantic guy who was hiding himself behind a wall of arrogance to protect himself from being hurt. 'Nah!' she thought, 'that is way too sappy movie-ish to be real. And I should know, Hermione made me watch them. I feel bad for Ron though, she made him watch a million chick flicks as the Muggles call them.'  
  
Then she glanced up at the man whom she was with and he happened to be looking down at her at the same moment. As she looked into his grey eyes and for a second forgot about her train of thought, and her hormones took over.  
  
That was it; within the next couple of seconds Draco and Ginny had their lips locked together. His tongue wiggled its way into her mouth and their tongues were playing a game of tag. This went on for a little bit before they started backing up to go into his bedroom. They kept kissing as he pulled off his shirt and sat down at the end of his bed. When they stopped Ginny opened her eyes and realized what was happening. She glanced at his muscles, 'man is he hot', and then her eyes moved down to his arm. The Dark Mark was not there. 'He isn't a Deatheater!'  
  
She had to leave, to get out of there. She felt immensely guilty for kissing him. She backed up, as Draco gave her a wondering look, and then she muttered, "I have to go." Then she left the room quickly, not waiting for a response, and while in his living room picked up her coat and purse before continuing to the elevator. She ran out of the building like a man with a chainsaw was chasing after her, until she got home.  
  
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A/N: Once again thank you for reviewing. It was my birthday yesterday, happy birthday to me!, and also my second day of school therefore I won't be posting very often, but I will try to post at least once a week. The story should be over soon anyway. So please review!  
  
erbsenpueree- I hope it will be! Thanks! :-)  
  
Catmint- Thanks for the two reviews! 


	11. What To Do?

Chapter 11  
  
The first thing Ginny did when she got home was take a long shower. How could she do that to Harry? Yes, she got lost in the moment, but still it made her feel like a horrible person. 'I am a horrible person' she thought. Being the first time she had ever cheated on anyone, yes this constituted as cheating, she was not sure what to do. Should she tell Harry? Should she keep it a secret and never see Draco again? Did she just think of Malfoy as Draco?  
  
She stepped out of the shower and wrapped herself in a fluffy white towel. Steam from the hot water caused the mirror to fog up, so she wiped off the mirror with her hand till she could she her face. As she looked at herself she felt like she was looking at a completely different person. Was that really her? Yes, but she had definitely changed in the past week.  
  
How could one task go so horribly wrong? Since when did her investigation for work become something other then just work? Who did she have to blame other then herself? Malfoy for going to the coffee shop? Cho Chang for getting the same information as her and writing a similar story? Her informant for not being loyal? Her boss for giving her the opportunity to write another article? No, it all came down to her. She was the one who came up with the idea in the first place. She could only blame herself for this complicated situation.  
  
Or maybe this was for the best. Maybe her and Harry were not meant to be, but her and Malfoy were? 'That is highly unlikely. He probably just wants to hurt me. And it's not like I have any feelings for him... ok, I'm lying. I'm starting to like him, but is it really him that I like or is it him pretending to be someone else? He's not who I thought he was. Why does life always have to be so difficult?' And what about her job?  
  
Earlier she had planned to look over the papers and finish writing her article the next day. That way she could get it over with, and she was sure that a story like this one could get her a promotion. One problem though, she now knew that Malfoy was not a Deatheater. If he is not a Deatheater, then where is her story? She had two and a half weeks to write something good or she was going to be stuck reviewing lousy novels forever. What was she going to do?  
  
She changed into a pair of pajamas and left her wet hair down to air dry. Then she found a small scroll and, picking up her quill, scribbled a quick note on it before attaching to her small owl and sending him off to deliver the letter.  
  
With a large yawn she went off to bed and fell fast asleep.  
  
Ginny found herself in the middle of a dense forest. There was a fog surrounding her so thick that she could have cut it with a knife. She heard a noise; someone was walking towards her. He got close enough for her to see who he was before he started running away. It had been Harry.  
  
"Where are you going?" she yelled, but received no reply. Instead she smelt smoke and turned around to see a small cabin burning. The fire was getting bigger and bigger, and so she turned and another man was in front of her. She couldn't see his face, but she felt safe with his presence. He grabbed her hand and then they ran off.  
  
Then she heard someone say, "Ginny, Ginny wake up."  
  
She blinked repeatedly and then eventually opened her eyes. It was all a dream. She was sweating and breathing heavily, like the dream had been real. Thinking back to it, she had not a clue as to what it could mean. She wiped her hand across her hot forehead and sat up in her bed.  
  
"Are you ok?"  
  
She looked up and realized that Harry was by her bed. "Yeah, I think so. It was just a strange dream. What are you doing here?"  
  
"I got your owl to meet you for lunch at eleven thirty, but you didn't show so I thought I'd come here to check up on you and see if you were ok." he said. He took a seat on the edge of the bed near her and brushed back some of his black hair.  
  
She suddenly remembered the owl she sent off the previous night. She needed to talk to Harry, this could not be avoided, so she had thought the best thing to do was get it over with. She had to break up with him, but she didn't want to hurt him because she still cared about him.  
  
She faced him and replied, "Right. I'll just get dressed and meet you in the living room."  
  
He nodded and then left her bedroom, closing the door behind him. He took a seat at the couch and then flipped on the television so he would have something to do while he was waiting. Meanwhile Ginny was changing into a blue t-shirt and jeans. She quickly brushed her hair and then went into her bathroom to wash her face. As she went to dry her face off with a towel she remembered that she left her purse in the other room. She hoped that Harry had not found the papers she "borrowed" from Malfoy.  
  
Finally she entered the living room and Harry turned off the television and looked at her. She took a seat next to him and said, "Harry, we really have to talk."  
  
"It's a good thing that you wanted to meet up, because I have to talk to you about something too." he replied, catching her off-guard. What would he have to talk to her about? She was the one who cheated and was going to break up with him. What possibly could be plaguing his mind?  
  
"Really?" she asked in confusion.  
  
"Yes. Do you want to go first?" he asked.  
  
"Uh... no, you can go first." she responded, wondering what it was that he had to say. Did he already know about her and Malfoy?  
  
"Ginny," he started. "I care about you and I want you to know that."  
  
"I care about you too." she said.  
  
"But things have changed between us and I think we should see other people." He said each word carefully like he was afraid if he said the wrong thing a time bomb would go off. He sat there waiting for her response with a worried look on his face.  
  
"Are you breaking up with me?" she asked, not out of anger but out of confusion. He beat her to it! How funny was that. So he didn't know about Dr- Malfoy after all. That was a relief. The irony was that all this time Ginny was worried about hurting Harry and now Harry was the one worried that he was hurting Ginny.  
  
"I'm afraid so." he replied. There was a brief period of silence as Ginny was processing the information she just heard.  
  
How do you respond to such a statement? Do you cry? Do you sigh with relief? What is the right reaction? Well, there was no 'right' reaction, or at least none that Ginny was aware of. Therefore she half him a reassuring half smile and said, "I agree. Still friends?"  
  
"Of course." he said, returning a smile and they hugged. She was still shocked at what had happened in the past several minutes, but she was happy that neither of them had to be hurt. Plus he would never have to know about Draco. 'Stop thinking of him as Draco!'  
  
"So, was there something you had to talk to me about?" he asked, remembering back to the letter he received.  
  
"Oh, it's nothing." she said.  
  
"Sure?"  
  
"Yeah. Pretty sure." she replied. "Want to watch some Quidditch?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
Just then the phone rang. "Hold that thought," she said, handing Harry the remote and then going into the other room to answer the phone.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
"Ginny! You would not believe what happened last night." It was Hermione, who else would it be. Hermione was of course the only person she knew who used a telephone.  
  
"I think I have an idea." Ginny said with a smile, knowing what Hermione was talking about without being told.  
  
"Ron set up dinner outside on the top of the apartment building. There were candles and the stars above us, and the music. It was beautiful. I never thought Ron could be so romantic. Maybe letting him watch those movies is paying off."  
  
Ginny giggled to herself at that comment, but didn't say anything.  
  
"It was all going great until he started the whole red in the face sweating act that he did last time at lunch and he spilled some butterbeer on himself, but this time when I asked him what was wrong he got down on one knee and proposed. Well, he did sort of mumble the 'Will you marry me' part, but I knew what he was saying so that didn't matter."  
  
"So he followed my advice..." she blurted out until she realized that she said that out loud and stopped talking.  
  
"You knew about this all along?" Hermione asked.  
  
"Uh, well, yeah. I'm Ron's sister. What did you expect?" she responded. "Besides, I told you that he wasn't going to break up with you."  
  
"Did you help him pick out the ring too? It is perfect."  
  
"Nope. It is a nice ring though."  
  
"There is no way that he picked it out himself."  
  
Ginny laughed. "Yeah, that is for sure. The saleslady helped him."  
  
"So, how have you been?" Hermione asked her.  
  
Hmm... where to begin. In the ten minutes following that inevitable question, Ginny told Hermione about the kiss, the nonexistent Dark Mark, and the break up. Her news was almost bigger then her friend's.  
  
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A/N: I though I'd get another one done before a week of homework hits me. Please review!  
  
erbsenpueree- Yep. Thanks!  
  
Catmint- Thank you!  
  
Stephanie- A new reviewer! Thanks! 


	12. Luck At Last

**Chapter 12  
**  
"Every time I talk to you Ginny, you surprise me." Hermione said.  
  
"I know. I even surprise myself sometimes." The blonde replied. She had been sitting on her bed while Harry was watching television in her living room. She got up and wandered over to the door and peeked out to see Harry engrossed in the sports channel. She smiled and then returned to her spot on her bed.  
  
"That's odd that Harry would break up with you. It seemed like you two were a happy couple. Did he say why?"  
  
Ginny hadn't even thought of that. Now that it was brought to her attention it seemed like a good question to ask. "No. I guess I was too busy thinking about other things to think to ask. It doesn't really matter, does it? I mean I was planning to break up with him."  
  
"I suppose. So, Malfoy is not a Deatheater. That is a big shock." It was. Most likely about anyone who knew him back in Hogwarts would have guessed that he would have followed in his father's footsteps to becoming an evil Deatheater. He had already seemed to have the evil part down pat. Well, not quite, but you get the point.  
  
"I know. Maybe he's not so evil after all." she replied. After spending some time with him she had come to the conclusion that yes, he was most of the things that she knew him as, but evil?  
  
"You are falling for him, aren't you?" Hermione asked.  
  
Well, the honest answer is she was. When they kissed all she had wanted to do was melt into it and completely loose herself. How had this happened? The only answer she could come up with was that he grew on you. "Unfortunately. You don't hate me for it, do you?"  
  
"I can't believe you would ask such a thing! I'll be your friend no matter who it is that you are with."  
  
That was a better response than she anticipated. She knew that Ron wouldn't take that well to the news. He was a protect brother enough as it is, but wanting to be with his old enemy from only a couple years ago? He would go nuts. Even Harry would probably be able to handle the information better then her brother.  
  
"We aren't together. It would never work. Think about it, a Malfoy and a Weasley. What do you think the kids would look like?"  
  
"Like a little Ron with blonde hair," Hermione responded. "or Malfoy with red hair and the girls would look just like you."  
  
"You have put way too much thought into this rhetorical question. There will be no kids." Ginny said, trying to picture Draco with red hair. 'No, he is perfect the way he is; red hair would ruin him. Did I just think that?'  
  
"Ginny? Are you listening?"  
  
"Uh, what did you say?" she asked, trying to shake the thoughts of Draco with red hair out of her head, which was a lot harder to do than it sounds.  
  
"I said what are you going to do about your article? Isn't it due soon?"  
  
"Yes. I don't know. I still have to go through the papers I took from Draco's apartment." She had given up on calling him Malfoy, seeing as her subconscious would only let her think of him as Draco from now on.  
  
"Do you think that he could have planted them there? It does seem a bit odd that the briefcase opened for you on your first try. As much as I dislike the guy, he seems smarter then that."  
  
Hermione was right. Ginny had thought the same thing earlier. She would have to find out. Maybe he did, but for what reasons? Would she ever find out the truth behind his actions? More importantly, would she ever see him again?  
  
"Yeah I did, but there is no way for me to be sure. I don't think I'll be able to write about him anymore though. He is not a Deatheater, which was a major part of the article, and now with everything going on it just doesn't seem right."  
  
"Why Ginny, I think you have finally grown a conscious."  
  
"Shut up Hermione," she replied.  
  
"I was kidding. Anyway, I'll let you go. Let me know how it turns out."  
  
'It' could have been many things. It could have been about the article, her and Draco, or things along those lines. That was why she needed clarification. "How what turns out?"  
  
"The article." She was right the first time.  
  
"I told you I don't think I'm going to write one." Even if she did write one, what would it be on? She already covered how there was nothing left to write about. No one wanted to read about how Draco Malfoy wasn't a Deatheater. Well, maybe someone would, but not enough people for the newspaper to print the article on the first page.  
  
"We'll see. Bye."  
  
Ginny said good-bye, heard a click, and then hung up the phone. She sauntered out into her living room and then plopped onto the couch next to Harry. She broke his attention from the television and he turned to look at her.  
  
"Who was it?" he asked as he adjusted the black glasses he had worn for as long as she had known him. His black hair was messy, falling over his forehead and covering his scar.  
  
"Hermione." she answered, moving her eyes from Harry over to the television. There was a re-run on that was giving the play by play analysis of the game that Ginny had gone to with Draco on their first date. If you could consider that a date even thought she went for a different reason than most people had to go on dates.  
  
"How is she?" he asked with actual concern. At one point in Ginny's life she had been jealous at Hermione's closeness with Harry, now it didn't bother her because she was older and they were both two of her best friends.  
  
"Good. Her and Ron are engaged." She wasn't sure if he knew about that or not, but it was the biggest thing that happened to Hermione lately. It was kind of strange that Ron would only talk to his sister about proposing and not Harry, but even if Ron had consulted him about the matter there was no way of knowing if Harry knew when it actually occurred.  
  
"I knew that would happen sooner or later." he responded, looking back to the screen.  
  
"Yeah, me too."  
  
The two of them watched television for a while until Harry said he had to leave and Ginny saw him out. When he was gone she turned off the television and went over to her purse, pulling out the miscellaneous files, papers, and pictures she stole from Draco.  
  
She spread them out over her kitchen table, and began to look at each page one by one. The first several were nothing important. The only productive thing she accomplished in the following hour was put the picture of her and Harry in a picture frame. She decided that she would keep it seeing as it was a cute picture of them.  
  
The other pictures she set aside in a pile. Next to it sat the pile of papers she skimmed through that held worthless information. What was she going to do with this useless junk? She wasn't having any luck so far, that was apparent.  
  
She was going to give up the whole thing all together, but then she decided to look through a couple more pages before she stopped. That was when she came across something interesting, something helpful, something newsworthy...  
  
Ginny found that she was holding in her hands evidence of a very different sort that she was originally looking for, but these would do just fine. In fact, these were even better then what she wanted to find. These were going to get her a story.  
  
For Ginny was holding in her hands crucial information. She read over each page excitedly, and if there was any way to describe how she felt then the best way would be to compare her to a child opening presents on Christmas morning. The joy and the excitement of it all. The reason that she was so excited and full of writing ideas was that these papers she had proved that the man the Ministry put all the conspiracy blame on was innocent.  
  
She had been correct when she though he was innocent. She had seen it in his eyes. You could tell a lot about a person through their eyes, through the way that they saw the world. Most people's emotions shown through their eyes to be easily read if you just paid attention.  
  
This article along with the evidence she obtained would be enough to gain her promotion, to disprove all those other articles, and to free an innocent man. Ginny would have the story of a lifetime. It would be her first front-page article. Other newspapers may even offer her jobs. Plus she would have the satisfaction of finally beating Cho. This was exactly the kind of thing Ginny needed.  
  
Everything other thought that had been clouding her mind was cleared away. She forgot about Draco, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and her conflicting emotions. She only had one goal to focus on at the current time and it was as if she was the only person in the world.  
  
She sat down with a scroll and a quill and began writing as fast as her hand allowed her to. The words seemed to just flow and everything was fitting together like a puzzle that she had solved for the first time.  
  
In less than three hours she was finished her story and even was able to proofread it. She could not wait to go to the office the next day to show this to Mr. Hillman. Even he would have to agree that she deserved the promotion. Yes, she would be handing it in early, but at this point she was so excited that she couldn't wait. Besides, because of last time she handed in an article it was already out in other newspapers. She would not let that happen to her again.  
  
When she was completely finished with it she safely tucked the article into her purse. She would turn it in first thing the following morning.  
  
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**A/N:** I was so happy to see all of the lovely reviews! Thank you all! I don't have enough time to reply to all of them, but I will answer some questions.  
  
**PLEASE REVIEW! Thank you!**  
  
**fanfare-** They were in a wizarding community. And yes I do have something with her being chased by chainsaws, lol. Harry was in the living room and she was in her bedroom.  
  
**Anonymous-** It was blonde hair so she wouldn't be easily recognizable.  
  
**Everyone else-** Sorry I couldn't reply to you all, but thank you so much! I'm glad you like the story. :-) 


	13. Celebration Time

**Chapter 13**  
  
Ginny woke up at the time she had planned to. She had the right amount of time to take a shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, and then get herself over to the office. She strolled in happily, saying hello to everyone she saw, even Cho. When Cho saw this she got suspicious, knowing that since Ginny was being nice to her there must be something up her sleeve. That, of course, was kind of odd seeing as it was more like Cho Chang to do something like that then Ginny, but who knows how the mind of Cho works anyway. Certainly not Ginny.  
  
She made her way to her boss's office, and knocked on the door. She heard a gruff "Come in" from the inside, so she entered and took a seat in the chair in front of his desk to her left. She noticed that he was reading an article, and she supposed that it was one of Anton's.  
  
Anton Frantinum was the 'top writer' at Warts. He had been working there five years longer then her, and he had the position that she hoped to have one day. All, or at least most, of his stories made the front page news and he was widely known throughout the wizarding community for them. Except lately, he had been going through a dry spell. He now seemed unable to come up with any breaking news type articles and it was hurting the paper.  
  
Mr. Hillman sat there staring down at the papers on his desk with one hand on his forehead and the other holding a quill. He was tapping the end of his quill on his desk and rubbing his forehead with the hand that was on it. He was frowning, and looked as if he was trying to see if the paper would disappear if he concentrated on it long enough. Needless to say, it wasn't working.  
  
"Is Anton still having trouble coming up with stories?"  
  
Without looking up he grunted, "What is it you want Miss Weasley? I haven't got all day and your article isn't due for another week or so."  
  
"I know," she replied. "but I finished it earlier then expected."  
  
She reached into her bag and pulled out a file containing the scroll and some of the evidence. She plopped in onto his desk on top of the papers he had been looking at without a care to how he was going to react. He would change his attitude the minute he began reading it.  
  
He finally tore his eyes from the desk and looked up at her. His face held a look of fatigue and worry as he frowned. "What is the meaning of this?"  
  
"It's my piece. I'm turning it in early."  
  
"And I suppose you want me to read it now, is that it?" he asked annoyed, but she could tell by the look in his eyes that he was glad to have a break from the story he had been pondering over.  
  
She nodded cheerfully with a small smile and sat there expectantly. She watched as he opened the file and then unrolled the scroll. He began to read with his eyes moved quickly across the paper. Soon he looked back up at her with a hopeful twinkle in his brown eyes.  
  
"How did you come across this?" he asked, referring to the evidence she had used to write her article on.  
  
"Oh, by routine investigation. So do you like it?" she answered, not that her 'investigation' as she put it was anywhere near routine. Actually, it was far from it, but right now she was focused on the story and not how she had obtained the information pertaining to the story.  
  
"It isn't what I expected," he admitted, looking up from the paper and closing the file.  
  
Ginny's face was about to drop. What did that mean exactly? She had gone through a lot to get that article and he better like it.  
  
"It's better. This is one of the best pieces to come out of this newspaper in years. You, young lady, are getting that promotion you want. I have to run this off immediately before anyone else gets hold of it. Good job, Miss Weasley. This is just what our newspaper needed."  
  
Suddenly Ginny was overcome with joy. She was proud of her hard work, and finally she would be receiving the fruit of her efforts. This called for a celebration.  
  
Mr. Hillman got up out of his seat, holding the file in one hand, and walked over to the door. Ginny got up, picking up her bad, and they both left the room. When they were out into the main office area of the newspaper where there were several cubicles he turned to her.  
  
"I expect you to be in on time tomorrow at eight." he said before walked off to go get the story printed for their next day's issue.  
  
A smile spread across her face as she began to walk out the way she had come. She saw Cho standing in the direction that she was headed, but didn't care. She was refusing to let her ever get on her nerves again. She decided to be civil, after all there was no longer any competition between them. It's funny how things work out, isn't it?  
  
"What are you so happy about?" Cho asked snottily.  
  
"Oh, nothing," Ginny replied. "just my new promotion is all."  
  
She wished that she had taken a picture of Cho's face at that moment. Her mouth had dropped downward, her eyes were slightly widened, her nose was scrunched up, and it looked as if someone just showed her a smelly dead gnome.  
  
Ginny tried her best to memorize that face, and then she continued walking out of the building. She was in such a good mood that she was in her own little world ignoring all those around her. She went back to her apartment, and straight to the phone. Hermione was the only other person who would be able to fully appreciate this.  
  
As she dialed the number, she realized that she talked to her friend on the phone way too often for a witch. Almost every day to be precise. Besides, this news was just too good to discuss over the phone, it deserved more then that.  
  
"Hello?" a voice said as the ringing stopped.  
  
"Hey Hermione. Are you busy today?" Ginny responded. She wanted to get together with her best friend not only to drop the news, but also because they hadn't seen each other since the day she went with her and Ron for drinks.  
  
"Well, I have some paperwork to finish, but I guess I could fit something in. Why, what is it that you want to do?"  
  
"Let's have lunch together. When are you free?"  
  
"Twelve thirty."  
  
"Ok, what do you say to Chinese?"  
  
"Yum," her friend simply replied. Then she added, "and you must have something big to tell me."  
  
"Indeed I do. Meet you at the place at twelve thirty then," Ginny said.  
  
"Alright. See you then."  
  
'The place' was their favorite Chinese restaurant. It was their tradition to go there to celebrate certain events or to discuss things over food.  
  
Several hours later Ginny and Hermione met up at the set place on the set time, give or take a few minutes. They gave each other a short hug and then Ginny saw the ring on Hermione's finger. It wasn't until that moment that she realized her best friend was soon to be her new sister-in-law. That just added to her already high level of happiness.  
  
They entered the restaurant and were seated by a familiar looking woman. Who was she? Ginny could have sworn that she saw her some place before. When the hostess left them alone at their table with menus in hand Ginny leaned over to Hermione who was sitting across from her.  
  
"Doesn't she look familiar to you?" she asked in a whispered voice.  
  
Hermione looked over at the woman and then back at Ginny. "Yes she does. I didn't even realize that until you pointed it out."  
  
They both kept taking glances at the woman until Ginny had a clear picture of her in her mind. She was a rather big boned woman with a mean looking face and thick eyebrows. Her hair was messy and she looked unkempt. Her uniform looked like it was two sizes too small on her and her expression stayed one of discontent. She looked about the place like she was picking out someone to wrestle with, and Ginny knew that wrestling was probably something that this woman was very good at.  
  
"I've got it!" Hermione said a little too loud, causing Ginny to turn her eyes from the woman to her friend.  
  
"So, who is it?" she asked.  
  
"It's Millicent Bulstrode," she replied in a hushed tone to prevent the woman from hearing her. "she was in Slytherin."  
  
"The girl who put you in a headlock?" Ginny asked, remembering back to an incident at the Dueling Club in school that Hermione had told her about.  
  
"Yes, that's her. I can't believe she is working here."  
  
"It's kind of funny if you think about it," Ginny said with a laugh.  
  
"What a small world."  
  
At that moment the door to the restaurant opened. Ginny's eyes happened to be looking over there at the time and she saw someone walk in. Immediately she took her menu and hid herself behind it, making Hermione confused.  
  
"What is it?" she asked, looking around and trying to see what it was, or more like who it was, that her friend was hiding from. She noticed a tall blonde man walk in with a man who had short brown hair, but neither of them looked familiar. Then she looked back at her friend.  
  
"It's Draco!" Ginny whispered.  
  
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**A/N:** I want to **thank my reviewers**. There weren't as many as last time, but I still am grateful to those who took time to write something.  
  
**Please review!**


	14. Unexpected Visit

**Chapter 14**  
  
"That's Malfoy?" Hermione asked, inspecting the blonde. He actually looked handsome, and it was a big change from the boy he was in school. His hair was no longer slicked back with loads of gel, and he had definitely grown, taller and stronger. Malfoy and the man he was with sat down at a table on the other side of the restaurant, not caring to observe anything or anyone around them.  
  
"Yes," Ginny replied with a small nod, still hiding behind her menu.  
  
"Why are you hiding from him?" she asked, turning her gaze from Draco to her friend.  
  
"Because I haven't seen him since the kiss," she answered. "We have to get out of here quick. Come on."  
  
Ginny pulled her friend out of her seat and ran out of the restaurant, still holding the menu in front of her face. When they were outside she threw it back into the place and then dragged Hermione along away from the Chinese establishment.  
  
"It's ok, we'll just go eat at a different place," she huffed as they walked down the street. She was pretty sure that she had not been spotted, so she felt relieved.  
  
They settled on another restaurant called The Witches Pavilion, and then sat down with their menus. They both ordered and then Hermione sat there looking at her friend. Ginny was sitting across from her with her head in her hand and her arm on the table.  
  
"What is it that you had to tell me?" she asked.  
  
"I'm thinking of going back to my red hair," Ginny responded, twirling some of the blonde hair with her fingers. "I feel like I'm not myself anymore."  
  
That was true. Lately she had not been acting like herself. She kissed Draco for Merlin's sake and that was a very un-Ginny like thing to do. Everything had just been so crazy in the past weeks, all stemming from one of her brilliant ideas.  
  
"That is it?" Hermione asked, expecting something bigger. "Well, in that case, go for it. You do look good in blonde hair, but red is more you."  
  
"Actually no," she answered. "I wanted to tell you how my article went."  
  
"I told you that you would write one! So, go on, I'm anxious to know."  
  
"Well, remember how I, um, borrowed some things from Draco's apartment?" she asked, not realizing or caring that she just called him Draco again.  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"That turned out to not be about him, but it was even better. I can't tell you what they were about, I want you to read my article tomorrow, but I can tell you that my boss loved it. I got the promotion!" Ginny excitedly proclaimed.  
  
"This is wonderful. I knew you would."  
  
"That makes one of us," she replied. "but you should have seen Cho's face when I told her. It was the funniest thing I think I have ever seen."  
  
"So that means that you finally beat her. Congratulations," Hermione said with a smile. "This is certainly a cause for celebration."  
  
"Indeed," she responded. The more she thought about it the higher her excitement level grew. "And tomorrow I get to go work in my new office."  
  
"You have your own office now?"  
  
"Yeah, you should come visit me."  
  
"I will."  
  
After they had lunch together they went their different ways, Hermione had to return to work and Ginny went home. She had a feeling of accomplishment, of setting a goal and then achieving it. Although, she also felt like everything was over, and in an odd way she knew that she was going to miss all the excitement of the game between her and Draco.  
  
Speaking of Draco, she would never see him again. Ok, maybe she would accidentally see him like earlier that day, but she would not intentionally see him. That had just been a coincidence, or had it? What if it was fate?  
  
Hah, real funny. She didn't believe in fate and if someone came up to her and told her that Draco and her were destined to be together then Ginny would laugh in their face. It was such a silly thought, so unrealistic that it was actually humorous.  
  
Several months ago she would have expected to end up with Harry. There had been a time when he was all she could think about. It's surprising how much can happen in such a short period of time... and how fast feelings change.  
  
And why had Harry broken up with her? It didn't really matter because she was planning to break up with him anyway, but she was just curious. Maybe he noticed that their relationship just wasn't working out. They hadn't been spending much time with each other, and it wasn't until recently that Ginny noticed how big the difference between being in love and just loving someone was.  
  
Or maybe he liked someone else... Nah, he wasn't like that. Harry would never want to hurt her, and even though she cheated on him she knew that he would never cheat on his girlfriend. Although, liking someone else doesn't necessarily constitute as cheating, but kissing them sure did.  
  
It was a shame though; Draco was quite pleasing to look at...  
  
She had been sitting on her couch absent-mindedly, when her glance moved around her living room. Sitting on the table was the romance novel that she never finished, and beside it a pile of more books she was supposed to read for her old book review column. She looked on them with scorn, and then her expression suddenly changed to one of mischief.  
  
She got up from her couch and walked over to the pile of books. Starting with the romance novel, one by one she victoriously threw them into her trashcan. Her frown turned into a wide smile as she returned to her spot on the couch and picked up her remote.  
  
She had finally conquered evil. Ok, that was looking at the situation in an entirely too overdramatic perspective, but every once in a while Ginny liked to look at things dramatically. And what was so wrong with that anyway?  
  
She flipped through some channels, eventually landing on her favorite one, the sports channel. She watched TV for a bit. Tomorrow would not come soon enough.  
  
Ginny woke up exceptionally more energetic then usual. She had an hour and a half to get ready, and then she even made it to the office fifteen minutes early. She wore more professional type attire, and she was bringing along some pictures to set on her new desk in her new office. Yes, her new office. She was finally going to get her own office.  
  
She had never walked through the office with such pride. She went to Mr. Hillman's office, where his door was ajar. Pushing it completely open, she entered to see that he had been waiting for her at his usual spot behind the mahogany desk.  
  
"You are early for once, Miss Weasley," he stated, getting up from his desk and walking over to her. "I'll show you to your office."  
  
He led her down the hall, passing many of her co-workers who still had spots in cubicles. She waved to some of them, receiving a hello in return. Many of them were jealous at her leap in her career, but there were still the few that were genuinely happy for her. Those were also the type of people who did not stomp on others to get ahead.  
  
Eventually he stopped walking outside of a door. He opened it and then stepped back for Ginny to go on ahead by herself.  
  
"I'll expect a rough draft by the end of next week," he said before turning around and then walking back to his own office.  
  
Ginny stepped into her office, and then taking a double take to see her name on the door. Then she continued on it and shut the door behind her. She set down her bag on the desk, and took a couple picture frames out of it. One was a photo of her entire family, including all of her brothers. Another was of her and Hermione on her birthday.  
  
Lastly, she pulled out the picture of her and Harry that she had taken from Draco. Why he had that picture in the first place was a mystery to her, but it was so cute that she had to frame it. She set up the three picture frames on the left corner of her desk, and then took a seat in her chair.  
  
She was happily spinning around in her chair, feeling like a child again, and then she heard her door open. She spun back around and looked up to see who it was. Standing in her doorway was Draco. She couldn't seem to escape him. Wherever she was he would appear. Someone must not like her, either that or must really enjoy irritating her.  
  
"Hello Paige," he said, walking in like he owned the place after first closing the door and then taking a seat in the only other chair in the room. Then he plopped a copy of that day's Warts newspaper. "or should I call you Ginny?"  
  
"Draco-" Ginny started.  
  
"I see you used my help," he interrupted with a sly grin.  
  
"Thanks. Did you come here to gloat?" she asked him rhetorically. He must have placed the papers in his briefcase intentionally, but why would he want to help her? "I don't want to play any more games."  
  
"Oh, but it was all a game that you started wasn't it?" he asked in response. Why did he always have to be right?  
  
"I don't have time for this," she said, not knowing what to say.  
  
"Have it your way," he replied, and before she could even take one last look at him he was gone.  
  
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**A/N:** Thanks for reviewing!  
  
**Please review! **


	15. Useless Lists

**Chapter 15  
**  
Ginny sat in her office, subconsciously replaying the previous scene in her over a million times in a row. He finally openly admitted that he knew who she was, even though she knew that he knew, he knew that she knew he knew, and she knew he knew that she knew he knew. It was all a very vicious cycle, which was of course now over.  
  
The thing that puzzled her was that he made some comment about how she "used his help". What did he mean by that? This girl was no idiot, she knew that he was referring to the information she used for her article, but let's take a little trip backwards for a second. What would he gain by helping her? Certainly a man as selfish as him would not help someone out of the goodness of his heart. Hell, how did she even know he had a heart?  
  
That is, of course, a rhetorical question. Her mind ran rapid, and she sat at her desk incapable of doing anything productive. If one were to see her they would think that she was staring at the wall, when in all reality she was off in her own land of unanswered questions to ponder when you still have no idea what is going on around you.  
  
If only she could read him like a book... then maybe she would understand. Why he had come there in the first place? She would never know because she drove him away. She regretted acting as she had, it was if she was becoming as bad as he was, but another part of her thought it was for the better. He would only cause her pain. Besides, she did not even know if he liked her at all, and he most likely did not. His whole plan was probably about hurting her and that was why she did not want to think about him any longer. He was simply a distraction.  
  
There she had it, she finally made up her mind. No more thinking about Draco Malfoy. First step is to, well, stop thinking about Draco Malfoy. It was easier said then done, but she would be able to manage. Stop rolling your eyes...  
  
Ok, since it was obvious that she wouldn't be able to work, she might as well do something to occupy her time. She would start by making a list entitled "Reasons Why I Must Stop Thinking About You Know Who." (No, not You-Know-Who, but her you know who. Still with me? Back to the story...) That was just in case anyone ever found it lying around. You could not trust people these days and she learned from more then one experience that bad things happen when you write things of this sort with actual names on them. Of course that was nothing compared to when she wrote in a blank diary she had found... but that was a different story for a different time.  
  
Where to begin? Oh right...  
  
_Reasons Why I Must Stop Thinking About You Know Who:  
  
1. He has been my enemy since day one.  
_  
Day one meaning the first day they ever met, which was during his second year at Hogwarts. Being a Weasley, she was simply another target for him to pick on. If it wasn't about her hand-me-downs or not being rich like him, then he would find something else to make fun of her about.  
  
_2. He is arrogant.  
_  
That was a given.  
  
_3. He is self-centered, narcissistic, and vain.  
_  
Everyone probably already knew these, but it made Ginny feel better to write it down.  
  
_4. He is rich and flaunts his wealth._  
  
She had a firsthand account of that when he took her on those dates. She quickly learned that he takes no hesitations when it comes to spending that inherited money of his.  
  
_5. He is a Malfoy.  
_  
That's pretty much self-explanatory.  
  
_6. He is rude._  
  
Even saying that was underestimating him.  
  
_7. He doesn't care about anyone's feelings but his own.  
  
8. He was mean to my friends and family._  
  
'Does that count?' Ginny asked herself. Well, this list was supposed to be pertaining to just her and him, so it probably doesn't. She crossed it off and then continued on.  
  
_8. He gets on my nerves.  
  
9. He lies and cheats._  
  
Technically so did Ginny, but she was going to omit that tiny detail. After all, this list was for her anyway.  
  
_10. He is a bastard.  
  
11. He is smug and boastful.  
  
12. He thinks that he is better then everyone else.  
  
13. Apples don't fall far from the tree, and knowing his father that means he must be one very rotten apple._  
  
While his father crossed her mind, Ginny wondered how the hell Lucius ever found a wife. He didn't even have his looks going for him like Draco did, not that Draco's looks would be enough to ever convince Ginny to marry him. Crap, did she just put Draco, herself, and marry all in the same sentence? What was happening to her?  
  
_14. Just when you think you have him figured out he surprises you.  
  
15. I don't understand him and it puzzles me to no end.  
  
16. He knows when the right thing to say is nothing at all.  
  
17. He is not evil.  
  
18. He is good-looking.  
  
19. He is a good kisser.  
  
20. Despite all of the negative afore mentioned reasons, he makes me want him badly._  
  
Wait a minute, since when did a list about all of his bad qualities turn into a list of the things that she liked about him? And who knew there would be so many? The fact that she could like anything about him was a perfect reason why she had to stop thinking about him. She had to pretend as thought he did not exist. And so she added:  
  
_21. I am starting to like him._  
  
She stared at the list blankly for a few minutes before rolling it unto a ball and throwing it into the trashcan that was on the other side of the room. It missed and landed on the floor next to it, but Ginny was not paying attention to that.  
  
Now that she was done with that list, which surprisingly only took a matter of several minutes, it was time for stage two of Operation Forget About Malfoy (also known as OFAM). She began a different sort of list, which read:  
  
_Things To Do INSTEAD Of Thinking About You Know Who:  
  
1. Sit in my office writing stupid lists.  
  
2. Place a charm on intimate objects to make them sing and dance purely for my amusement.  
  
3. Make faces at Cho and see how long it takes for her to get annoyed.  
  
4. Actually do my job.  
  
5. Bang my head against my desk.  
  
6. Reenact previous Quidditch games that I have seen, only using office supplies that are in my possession.  
  
7. Owl Hermione asking what crazy thing my brother has done this time.  
  
8. Place the Tarantallegra charm on Cho and watch as she makes a fool of herself in front of the whole office, including Mr. Hillman.  
  
9. Walk into the middle of the street and scream.  
  
10. Watch as the leprechauns steal my sanity...  
_  
Well, that didn't turn out quite the way she had hoped. She sighed, and crumpled this paper up into a ball like she did with the last one, except this time when she threw it the ball actually found it's way into the trashcan.  
  
Ginny got up, picked up her bag, and then left her office to go home. There was no point being there if she wasn't going to work, and she had to go out and find some inspiration for her next story. It wasn't going to write itself.  
  
Five minutes after Ginny left the office, a person by the name of Cho came walking up to it. She wanted to ask Ginny a question about something, but when she knocked on the door she heard no response from the inside. So, she opened the door and stuck her head in. It was empty. She glanced around the main office, and then when she realized no one was paying attention she entered Ginny's office and shut the door behind her. She looked around the room that she thought ought to be hers, and then she stepped on something. She looked down to see what it was, and on the floor was a crumpled up ball of paper. Curious as to what it was, she picked it up and smoothed it out. Oh this was interesting, quite interesting indeed...  
  
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**A/N:** **Thanks for reviewing everyone**! Woo-hoo, I have a little over 80 reviews! Yayness, keep up the number and **REVIEW**! Thank you!  
  
Oh, and no Draco doesn't work there, he just knew that Ginny (remember he has his connections). Anywho, as to the other questions you are just going to have to wait and find out! :-) 


	16. Payback

**Chapter 16**  
  
Draco Malfoy was strutting down the street, in his usual I-own-the-world fashion, towards the direction of his apartment building. His normal thoughts were being interrupted by a certain person, one whom he definitely did not want to think about. Ginny Weasley.  
  
Why couldn't he stop thinking about her? He is a Malfoy; they don't have feelings for people. He certainly did not have any feelings for her. 'Of course not' he thought, taking a right turn at the street corner. It was obvious that the game was over now and he had to find something else to occupy his free time. She had been a fun distraction though, despite the fact that she was the Weaselette.  
  
She had fallen into his well thought out trap, found the information, and then used it in her article. It was causing a big frenzy in the wizarding community, and they were going to investigate further before letting the innocent man go free. He received a copy of Warts daily, and when he saw that report on the front page a grin crept across his face.  
  
No, he was not happy because Ginny got her article in the newspaper, but he had his own reasons for why he helped her. He thought she would have been smart enough to think of that before going ahead with the story, but then again any reporter would be excited with that kind of information at hand. Her actions were understandable.  
  
His true reasoning lies with his relationship with his father. His father, Lucius Malfoy, was a very proud and power hungry man. He was never a true father figure to Draco, but instead he held impossibly high expectations for his son. That type of parenting is most likely the reason behind why Draco acts the way he does, but that is a completely different story.  
  
Besides all of that, Lucius Malfoy had many friends in high places. His connections with the Ministry were strong, and therefore hurting the Ministry would be like hurting Lucius. Lucius had gotten out of Azkaban a little after Draco graduated from Hogwarts. How he got them to let him go was unknown to the majority of the wizard population, but Draco knew that his father had gotten one of his connections to make a case in his favor, saying that Lucius was under a spell the entire time and that he was not a Deatheater of his own accord. This was of course a lie, but they bought it and let him go.  
  
News of this was not pleasing to Draco, who had been quite content without the constant annoyance of his overbearing father. Needless to say, soon after Draco started working for his father, but then refused to become a Deatheater.  
  
Lucius did not realize that his son meant he never wanted to become one, but instead took his statement in a different way. He thought that Draco was going to wait till he married, and then him and his wife could both become them. This was why Draco was not yet a Deatheater, even though he never planned becoming one. His father could go recruit someone else for all he cared.  
  
So, making a long story short, Draco held a deep resentment towards his father. This was why he was all too happy to give Ginny, or more like lead Ginny to, the information needed to injure the Ministry publicly, no doubt in the process hurting his father as well. The best part was that no one would be able to trace it back to him because he knew Ginny would not tell anyone where she found the files. That would mean admitting that she went on dates with him, and went through his possessions in the process. Got to love that Weasley pride.  
  
But his own plan backfired on him. Yes, he got to annoy the hell out of Ginny and in the process hurt his father, but he had also spent way too much time with the girl. For some reason unknown to him, he could not get her off of his mind. He was feeling... feeling something... but the point is the fact that he was feeling anything at all. Malfoy's were supposed to be void of emotion, except for anger of course.  
  
She had been so cold with him when he paid her a visit. Why was that? She had obtained what she wanted, but surely he was not the only one out of the two of them that felt anything. That's impossible. Besides, no one can resist his charms. He is Draco Malfoy for Merlin's sake.  
  
He didn't even have an actual reason for visiting her to begin with. Maybe he did go there to gloat, but he wasn't even sure of that himself. He thought she would have been at least a little bit grateful for his help. After all, it was thanks to him that she got on the front page.  
  
He would simply have to resign to forgetting all about her existence. But why did that have to be so hard?  
  
He entered his apartment building, ignoring the polite hellos from the doormen, and entered the elevator. Soon he was standing in his apartment, and his eyes were satisfied at the spotless living room. He was never going to let go of his house elf; she was just too good at cleaning his place. Plus, who else would he have to cook him dinner?  
  
Draco's eyes finally landed on his coffee table. He took a seat on his favorite couch, and then glanced at the pile of mail in front of him. The first letter was from his father, who was complaining about the allegations that people from the Ministry were being charged with and he mentioned something about Ginny. He hadn't thought about the consequences of the article being published, but hopefully no one would go after Ginny. Not that he cared about what happens to her...  
  
The next letter was from his mother, nagging him about going to visit her. He would have to do it eventually; he knew his mother and she would not stop badgering him until he went. He would just have to go sometime next month, no need to rush the visit.  
  
The next several pieces of mail were from various people, none of which he felt like reading at the present moment. He was in no mood for more imbeciles in his life. At the bottom of the pile though, he found something that caught his interest.  
  
It was wrapped in bright red paper, enough to catch anyone's eye, and it did not say who it was from. So, naturally curiosity took over and he opened the letter. Inside there was a piece of parchment that had been at one time crumpled up, but was now in a somewhat flat state. He unfolded it and read the first line.  
  
_Reasons Why I Must Stop Thinking About You Know Who:_  
  
'What in the name of Merlin is this?' he thought, utterly confused, but continued to read on in spite of himself.  
  
_1. He has been my enemy since day one.  
  
2. He is arrogant.  
  
3. He is self-centered, narcissistic, and vain._  
  
'Who is this person?' he wondered.  
  
_4. He is rich and flaunts his wealth.  
  
5. He is a Malfoy._  
  
When he got down to number five he figured out that it was about him, and who else would have written it besides Ginny. He read a couple more lines, but stopped around number twelve and angrily crumpled the paper up with his fist. 'So that is what she thinks of me...'  
  
He would most definitely have to stop thinking about her now, not that he wasn't going to anyway. Plus, who knew she would make such a list about him? It was an outrage.  
  
Yes, most of the things on the list were true, but he could have sworn that his charms worked on her. What about that kiss? She had felt so abruptly that he knew he was getting under her skin. That was why she had acted so uncomfortable.  
  
Either way, that no longer mattered. It was all over and time for him to go back to his normal activities. Maybe he would go for a ride on his Firebolt 2000, but first he took out a piece of parchment and jotted down a response to his mother's letter. Maybe a visit home was just what he needed. Father could wait.  
  
Meanwhile, Ginny was sitting in her apartment. The day had not gone so well, and she was not in the best of moods. Being at her office had been a disappointment. 'Damn that Draco!' she fumed, tossing in her spot. She soon heard a noise, which resembled a light hooting sound, coming from behind her and then got up to see what was at her window.  
  
She saw it was an owl, and recognized it as Ron's. It was holding an envelope in its claws, so Ginny took it and patted the owl. She turned her attention back to the envelope in her hands and opened it. Just as she expected it was a wedding invitation.  
  
There was a picture of Ron and Hermione together, and then underneath that was the information, including the date, time, and place they finally agreed on. They were having a Muggle wedding, so that Hermione's Muggle family and friends could come. It was going to be held at some place that Ginny never heard of before, but there were directions along with the invitation. She was going to have to take a train ride to London and then from there take a taxi, which she learned was a Muggle form of transportation, to Hermione's house.  
  
The date was set exactly a month away, but Ginny had to go there a week or so in advance because she was the maid of honor and had to help out with things. Being a maid of honor was a first for her, but she could manage. She was shocked at how fast it took for them to plan and everything, many people waited a while after getting engaged before actually having the wedding, but they wasted no time.  
  
She wouldn't even have time to find a date to it, not that she needed one. Harry was going to be best man no doubt; therefore Harry and her would be walking down the aisle together. Perhaps they could go together as friends. 'I wonder if he is seeing anyone yet...'  
  
She was happy for her brother and best friend, but a small part inside of her that she usually never listened to was jealous. Would she ever find a love like they have with each other? It was not likely. They didn't realize how lucky they were. Besides, Ginny had bad luck when it came to a lot of things, one of them being relationships.  
  
Then Ginny thought of another thing. This meant she would have to go dress shopping. 'Ugh' she complained, setting down the invitation. Dress shopping was not the most fun thing in the world. In fact, it was one of the most irritating things to do, for Ginny at least.  
  
She felt a headache slowly forming, so she walked through her bedroom and into her bathroom. After taking some Headache-Be-Gone potion to cure it, she found herself looking in a mirror at, well, herself. It was time for her to change her hair back to her natural color. While she still had the blonde hair she felt like an imposter, and all she wanted to do was go back to being Ginny, the Ginny she was before the Malfoy fiasco.  
  
With her mind made up, she got out her wand and cast the spell to change her hair back to it's original color, and then she smiled as she ran her hands through her signature red hair. She was beginning to feel like herself again, a Weasley.

* * *

**A/N:** Thank you **MoonlightPrincess**, **erbsenpueree**, **Dracosbaby7**, **Taika**, and **Lelimo** for reviewing!  
  
**Please review!**  
  
(P.S. The more reviews I get the faster I'll write the next chapter, wink wink) 


	17. Vengeful Acts

**Chapter 17  
**  
The next day Ginny went to work. She had managed to get some sleep, if you can count dreaming about Draco Malfoy getting sleep. She was all ready to start the day, or as ready as she will ever be, and after her first cup of black coffee she felt like things were looking up for her.  
  
There were only a couple more days of work left in the week, and she was taking off the last week of the month for the wedding. That would be a vacation she could look forward to, despite the painful reality of having to wear a dress and heels for several hours.  
  
She confidently walked into the office, receiving compliments here and there about how good she looks with red hair, and 'was that really your natural color?'. Feeling good about herself, she was prepared to go sit in her office for a while to brainstorm her next article. After talking to a co-worker, she continued down the hall until Anton stopped her.  
  
"Hi Ginny," he said congenially. It was surprising that he could be so kind to someone who could be seen as his competition. That's the quality that separated him from people like Cho, who were insecure about themselves and rude to others. "I never got the chance to congratulate you. That was a good piece. I'm glad Mr. Hillman finally noticed your talent."  
  
"Thank you," she replied cheerily. "That means a lot coming from you."  
  
They were both about to continue on their ways when he added, "Oh, I almost forgot. The boss wants to see you."  
  
"Do you have any clue as to what it's about?" she asked, wondering what he wanted.  
  
She received a shrug in reply and as she turned around she took a breath and continued down the hall. She stopped outside Mr. Hillman's door and knocked. There was the usual gruff reply of, "Come in", and so she entered.  
  
Ginny didn't know it, but Cho was near and she snickered as she saw her rival enter the lion's den, also known as Mr. Hillman's office. It was thanks to her little visit to him only thirty minutes ago of why Ginny had to talk to him. With an evil smile on her face she thought back to two hours earlier that day.  
  
FLASHBACK  
  
Cho was walking to a cafe, purely wizard of course, with mixed thoughts. She could not let Ginny win, not this time, not ever. It was her rightful position to be promoted. She was the better writer and she worked there longer. Why couldn't Mr. Hillman see that?  
  
She was meeting up in person with her informant for the first time. They had supplied her with the information that both her and Ginny had obtained. Perhaps they sent it to Ginny too, but that didn't matter, what did was that she needed something good and she knew they could help her.  
  
What she didn't plan on was her informant being Draco Malfoy, yet when she discovered this a plan worked its way out in her mind. She already knew about Draco and Ginny, after finding that list in Ginny's office and mailing it to Draco so she could cause some trouble between them. Now she would use this bit of info to help her. She no longer wanted a story, what she wanted was Ginny's ruin.  
  
Draco had been waiting in a cafe after receiving a letter from a reporter that he had sent information to. He had inside information on the "Dark side" and, seeing as he did not like the people he had dirt on, he became an anonymous informant. He decided to meet up with her to see what she wanted. Yes, this would be revealing his identity, but they had an agreement and he was curious to see what was so important.  
  
Soon Draco and Cho were sitting together at a table. "What was so important that I had to meet you right away?" he asked casually, leaning back in his chair.  
  
"I want to ask you about someone by the name of Ginny Weasley," she replied.  
  
"What about her?" he asked, feeling anger rise just from hearing her name.  
  
"Somehow she came across information that helped her write a piece on the whole Ministry conspiracy," she answered. "Do you know anything about that?"  
  
"She is a thief," he said, exaggerating out of his current annoyance with her. "Plain and simple."  
  
"Oh really?"  
  
END FLASHBACK  
  
Back in Hillman's office, Ginny entered and quietly took a seat. She wondered what this could be about. Her next article, newspaper sales, or a number of other things could be the topic of this unexpected meeting.  
  
"You wanted to see me?" she asked.  
  
He looked up at her, setting down his quill and sitting at his desk with an air of superiority. She felt like she was back in school and in Dumbledore's office, except with a mean boss instead of a kind head master.  
  
"Indeed I did," he responded, a serious plastered on his wrinkled face. "It is about your last article."  
  
"Oh really," she said. What the hell was it this time? Judging by the way he was acting, Ginny could tell that it must be bad news. How much worse could her luck get? "What about it?"  
  
"I have been informed, mind you the person will be left anonymous for that fact is not important, that you used an illegal way of obtaining your information for the story. Now I know what you are going say, yes in cases such as this there are many reporters that use such ways for stories, but keep in mind that if the Ministry found out then they would use that against not just you but the entire newspaper."  
  
Ginny looked at him, completely and utterly shocked. Who could have told him? The only person who knew was Draco, and he couldn't... he wouldn't... would he?  
  
Mr. Hillman must have noticed the expression on her face because soon he continued. "No, you are not fired, I just wanted to tell you for future reference. Technically I should have asked you before, but the story had to be printed that day. So, keep that in mind and you can go."  
  
She sat there and did not move an inch.  
  
"Go on and write me another best-selling article," he said with a flick of his wand that opened the door for her.  
  
She got up and slowly left his office and continued down the hall to her own. When she opened the door she expecting to find a silent refuge, but instead sitting at a chair was her enemy. Ok, one of her enemies.  
  
"Cho? What are you doing in my office?" she asked, taking a seat behind a desk.  
  
The woman gave her a large smile and replied, "I wanted to talk to you about something."  
  
Ginny's ears perked up. Whatever Cho had to say to her could either be A. informative about something, or B. an insult. She was hoping that this time it was A. She tried her best to conceal her current state of mind and asked innocently, "And what might that be?"  
  
"I visited your boyfriend today," she said, a malicious grin making her look like she was possessed by something evil, if not the Devil himself.  
  
Boyfriend? What boyfriend? Obviously not Harry... Surely she didn't mean Draco.  
  
"You know who I am talking about."  
  
Or maybe she did, but how would she know about any of that? What was going on here, some secret conspiracy against Ginny or something?  
  
"He told me all about your little escapades," Cho continued. "It's a shame really, you have only had this office a day and now you have to hand it over to me."  
  
"What are you on about? I'm not fired," Ginny retorted, with disdain in her voice. She could not stand this woman, and how dare Draco tell her anything! She had been wrong, he was evil, pure evil! She felt so angry that she could have sworn smoke was coming out of her ears.  
  
"What?" Cho asked, making another one of her funny looking faces. Ginny would have laughed if she weren't so damn mad.  
  
"That's right. I'm not fired, so get the bloody hell out of my office!" she yelled the last part, her voice getting louder with each word.  
  
Cho must have sensed Ginny's anger, whether it was in the look of her face or the anger that seethed through her voice, because she left the office quickly and without saying anything else. She looked like a dog running away with its tail between its legs after being scolded. In normal circumstances this would have been a pleasing site to our heroine, but she was too occupied to notice.  
  
Ginny could not be more confused. All she knew was that this was all because of Cho and Draco. She expected as much from Cho, but Draco? How could he do that? Why would he do that? And how come Cho and Draco were talking?  
  
She hadn't gotten fired, so that was a good thing, but it still angered her that he would ever tell someone that. Plus it wasn't like she was a thief after all, he even admitted to putting the papers there on purpose! She was infuriated with him. How dare he!  
  
She could stay at her office no longer, so she soon left. She would need to work on regaining her focus and forgetting about Cho and Draco. Nothing had come out of this event except for an increased and intensified anger at Draco and another failed attempt of Cho's to get her fired.  
  
Later that night as she was lying in bed she found it difficult to sleep. Her thoughts flowed freely in her mind against her will. She came to the resolve that she was simply going to put all of this behind her and move on. That shouldn't be so hard, should it?  
  
Little did she know that back at Draco's apartment he was also being kept awake with thoughts of anger towards a person who he truly did not want to be mad at. He was mad about the list, mad about the fact that she viewed him in such a negative light, and mad that he couldn't stop thinking about her no matter how hard he tried.

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews!

Sorry this chapter is a little confusing, but I promise the rest of them won't be I was just in a hurry because I wanted to update and I had lots of homework and studying to do. The main points of this chapter were that Draco was the anonymous informant, Cho tried to get Ginny fired, and Ginny is even more angry at Draco. Don't worry, no one will be physically hurting anyone.  
  
As always, **please review**! (and if I get six or more reviews I'll update by Thursday)


	18. Karma

**Chapter 18**

The next day at work Ginny sat quietly in her office. Everyone was working diligently, except for her, who was still having trouble concentrating. She had some notes scribbled down on parchment with ideas for her next article, but she could not get herself to work.

She looked out her window and zoned out for a couple minutes, thoughts floating about in her mind like her brain was an ocean, and then snapped herself out of it. She had to concentrate. She shook her head, looked down at her paper for a few minutes, and then looked up at the wall opposite from her desk. For another couple minutes she considered different forms of revenge on two certain people that she did not like at the present moment, but she had enough of that and did not want to stoop to their level. Backstabbing and lying could only go so far.

Ok, back to concentrating...

Finally, just as she was able to start writing, she heard a shrill scream come from outside of her office. It was high-pitched, definitely a girl's voice, and it succeeded in making her drop her quill with annoyance.

"WHAT?" was the sound that was heard throughout the office. Ginny, curious as to who would be screaming and interrupting people who were trying to get their work done, got up from her beloved desk and ventured out of her office to find out for herself.

Everyone had their heads up and was staring intently at Mr. Hillman's door. Ginny walked over to a cubicle where her co-worker Sarah was sitting. Sarah was a friendly person who handled the advice column of the newspaper. She seemed content with the position she maintained, and since she was in the cubicles she always knew the current office scandal.

"What is going on?" Ginny asked her, constantly switching her glance from Sarah to the door and back to Sarah again.

"Well, Cho was called to see the boss and that's all I know."

"That explains who is screaming, but why?" she wondered out loud with curiosity. Of course it would be Cho who be freaking out, that was something that Ginny wouldn't put past her, but what could possibly make her act like that?

"And there is a rumor floating around that she is being fired for having someone else write her article for her," Sarah replied. Office gossip was always fun, but could at times be dangerous. This was one of those times when it was entertaining.

Soon after a maddened Cho flung open the door to Hillman's office and stomped out, her face a bit red and her expression looked like she was constipated. This thought made Ginny laugh as Cho looked around and noticed that everyone was staring at her.

"What are you looking at," she snapped and everyone pretended to go back to work. Cho's eyes eventually landed on Ginny, who was trying her hardest not to break out in laughter at the situation. Cho's faces never seemed to cease amusing her.

Cho walked, or more like stomped, over to where Ginny was standing. Pointing a single skinny finger at her she said with pure disdain, "You! This is your fault, isn't it?"

Ginny had no part in what was happening to Cho, as much as she wish she had, but instead she liked to think of it as karma coming back and biting Cho in the ass. That goes with the popular saying 'what goes around comes around'. After all, it was only fair, wasn't it?

So, she smiled innocently and asked, "Is what my fault?"

This question made Cho even angrier. "You know what I'm talking about."

"No, I don't," Ginny responded.

Sarah looked up at the upset Cho and, with a casual tone of voice, asked, "What Cho, did you get fired?"

Without answering, Cho stormed out of the office, pushing papers off of people's desks and shooting everyone evil glares the whole way. Most people went back to work immediately after the show was over, but there were still the few who whispered to each other about what just happened.

The popular office gossip included, of course, both Cho and Ginny because it was a well-known fact that they were enemies. Therefore whenever something bad happened to one of them everyone who automatically thinks that the other one was behind it. This time they were wrong.

"Well that was enough drama for the day," Sarah commented with sigh and began to start writing with her quill again.

Ginny smiled triumphantly and replied, "But life would be so dull without drama, don't you think?"

Sarah gave her a smile and a nod in reply. She was once again focused on her work while Ginny walked off to her office. After she closed the door behind her she did a little victory dance before returning to her desk. It was mean to take pleasure in other people's misery, but this was different. Cho had gone out of her way to try to get Ginny fired; therefore it was reasonable that Ginny would be happy. Plus, Cho was a bitch.

There were many times that Ginny imagined scenes where Cho would be humiliated, ridiculed, or injured, but none of them compared to what had just happened. It was extremely hard for anyone to not see the humor of it all. Cho was flipping out, and on Mr. Hillman no less. No one would have thought she had the guts for that, considering she was always sucking up to him. Things tend to change quickly when you are least expecting it.

This incident proved to be very beneficial to the redhead. Since it put her in a good mood, she was less reluctant to return to her work, and she was able to actually get a fair amount of work accomplished it the time that followed.

Eventually, it was time for her to go home. She left the office, still high with happiness from earlier, and absent-mindedly made her way to her apartment. She set down her bag, plopped on her couch, and then flipped on the television. There was a news report on about the topic of her article that gave her the promotion, which had been the talk of the wizarding community for days. This brought an even bigger smile to her face as she sat there watching,

Getting bored with the news, she flipped through some stations and somehow landed on the romance channel without even realizing it. Watching as the star couple went through a break-up then make-up, the show began to make her angry. She immediately changed over to the sports channel, cursing herself for even looking at the previous channel.

There was a special on the Vociferous Vultures on. She watched as two people discussed each team member and how many wins and losses the team had obtained over the past several months. This show, of course, made Ginny think back to when she went to a Quidditch game they lost. She went to that game with Draco on a 'date', so it made sense that this would make her think about him. Why did everything she watch have to remind her of him? Was the television conspiring against her? Was the entire world living just to make her life miserable?

She turned off the television just as she heard her phone ring. Already knowing whom it would be, she picked up the phone and said, "Hi Hermione."

"Hi. How did you know it was me?"

"Well, seeing as you are the only person who ever calls me, it would make sense, don't you think?" she replied.

Hermione laughed. "Yes, I suppose so. How is everything?"

"Ok," Ginny answered. "And the funniest thing happened today."

"Oh no, Ron didn't send you that hideous lamp, did he?" her friend asked.

"Huh?" She had no clue as to what Hermione was referring, but it did sound like something Ron would do. He refused to believe how bad his taste really was.

"Thank Merlin! I was begging not to, it really is a hideous lamp. He bought it at some Muggle store that he went to with your father the other day, and you know how your brother is. He came home with a bunch of things, one of them being a lamp that he insisted on giving to you."

"What did it look like?" Ginny asked, purely out of curiosity as to what caught her brother's fancy this time.

"It is a girl in a hula skirt that shakes her hips when it is turned on."

"Hula skirt?" she asked, not knowing the term.

"It is basically just a skirt made of grass."

"Oh," she replied, trying to picture what the lamp looks like in her head and not succeeding very well. "Muggles sure are strange, no offense."

"Believe me I know," Hermione responded. "So, what was it that happened today?"

"Right," she said, remembering that she was going to tell her something. "Cho got fired."

"Really? What for?"

"Something about having someone else write her article for her."

"Interesting."

"Yeah," Ginny said, and then decided to change the subject. "I can't wait to see you. I'm so excited about the wedding."

"Me too. It is all happening so soon, but I just can't wait for it to be all over with and to be Mrs. Hermione Weasley."

"And we will be sisters," she replied cheerily. They talked for a bit more, until Hermione had to go, and Ginny was left with a feeling akin to excitement yet at the same time a small bit of jealousy. When was her happy ending?

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks for reviewing! You all get stickers, hats, and chocolate bars!

And don't forget to **review**! Thanks. Same policy as always, if you review than I update. Cheers! ;-)


	19. Haunted

**Chapter 19**  
  
Two weeks flew by, and soon Ginny found herself sitting at her desk on her last day of work before it was time for her to go help with the wedding. She was going to leave soon, but surprisingly she wasn't counting down the time. Work had actually become enjoyable since the firing of Cho. Then again, now Ginny had virtually no competition.  
  
Although competition could go too far and make people act vicious, it still presented a challenge for each rival and inspired them to do better then they normally would. It no longer matter though, because Ginny already obtained the job she was trying to get and now all she had to do was focus on doing her job well.  
  
There were still rumors flying around the office, as in all business places where the workers only escape from their job was discussing their co-workers and using gossip as a form of entertainment. As long as it wasn't about you then you pretty much didn't care.  
  
Many of these rumors, about ninety percent to be precise, were about Ginny and Cho. Some were more realistic then others, and some were just flat out weird. People couldn't decide on whether Ginny or Cho was the bad one, even though Ginny was the nicest one out of the two; therefore they would think that it was both of them that did things to each other.  
  
Ginny didn't mind these rumors though because, well, she simply just didn't care what other people thought. She knew the truth, or at least a lot more of the truth then they did, and that satisfied her enough to not flip out on them. Besides, everyone was nice to her and openly agreed that they were glad that it was Cho who got fired.  
  
Ginny just thought that people should be spending more time on their work then in other people's business.  
  
She, on the other hand, finished some less newsworthy articles for the paper, looking for a story that could become another hit. Now she sat, making some last minute changes on an article before she would hand it in to her boss, the editor of the paper. When she felt it was complete, she looked up from the paper in front of her while playing with the quill in her hand.  
  
Staring into space, she felt incomplete as a person. She had achieved her goal, that was sure, but there was something missing. Life was not all about jobs, was it? Was there something more that she was missing out on?  
  
It had been two weeks, two whole weeks, fourteen days, and not one word from you-know-who. She had often though of owling him, but decided against it. This was for the better; it was what she wanted, right?  
  
She shook her head, her red hair loose on her shoulders, as she looked back down at her paper. Setting her quill down and closing her bottle of ink, she stood up and did a little stretch. She picked up her bag and the paper, and then proceeded to leave her office.  
  
She said good-bye to some of her co-workers as she made her way down the hall to her boss's office, and then when she got there she knocked on the door. As usual there was his gruff reply telling her she could enter and so she opened the door, causing a slight squeal from the rusty door hinges and a slam as the door shut behind her.  
  
He was in his normal spot at his desk, which he treated as his pedestal. She figured that he spent about one third of his life there, just sitting at that desk, and when he was dead his ghost would most likely stay there, haunting that office for eternity.  
  
She could picture it now as she walked over to him and set the paper down on his desk. "Here is the final draft. I wanted to give it to you before I left."  
  
"Sit down Miss Weasley," he replied, looking up from the large pile of papers scattered about his desk.  
  
She obeyed and took a seat.  
  
"I would like to talk to you about your performance," he said, his face being in its usual expression. "It's been satisfactory, and I see that you haven't missed one deadline. Good work Miss Weasley. I'll be looking forward to seeing you in a week."  
  
That was a compliment coming from him and she was elated. With a smile she said, "Thank you," and proceeded to get up and walk back over to the door. Once she got there she remembered something, and knowing that he seemed like he was in a good mood, she turned around to face him.  
  
"Oh, Mr. Hillman?" she asked, pulling his attention back to her.  
  
"Yes?" he asked.  
  
"Why did Cho really get fired?" She wanted to know, just out of curiosity, the true reason. There were many different things that she had heard about on that matter, but she wouldn't be content until she knew the real reason.  
  
"Miss Chang was caught stealing office supplies," he answered, not minding the fact that she asked him that question. "When I confronted her about it she became quite obnoxious, and we can't have writers like that, now can we?"  
  
Ginny smiled again, a visual in her mind of Cho freaking out on Mr. Hillman. That was definitely something she would do and she found this reason of firing much more humorous then the others that people were discussing.  
  
Innocently she replied, "Of course not. Have a nice weekend."  
  
"You too Miss Weasley."  
  
She left the room and the office, feeling better that she now knew the truth. Getting fired for stealing office supplies and talking back to your boss, now that was something. Yeah, it was something, something for Ginny to laugh about.  
  
Cho sure could be stupid at times. Why did she need to steal office supplies anyway? Who knows, but now Ginny didn't have to have any more confrontations with the woman. She would probably find another job at some two-bit newspaper or gossip paper. That would suit her much better.  
  
She walked across the street and entered the coffee shop, getting in line right away. There were two people in front of her, and she patiently waited as the one customer paid for their coffee and then the next person stepped up to the cashier.  
  
As she stood there, she heard someone from the side of the room say, "Ginny? Ginny Weasley, is that you?"  
  
She turned her head to see who was talking to her and she found herself looking at an older version of Dean Thomas. He had gotten a bit taller since the last time she saw him before he graduated, but he still looked about the same. She had dated him once a while back, but that all seemed so far away. They had a mutual break-up, but still remained friends.  
  
"Yes," she answered. "Hi Dean. How have you been?"  
  
"Good," he responded congenially with a smile. "How about you? What have you been up to recently?"  
  
"Oh, not much," she replied. "I work at Warts now."  
  
"I know, I read your article. It was brilliant. I couldn't believe that the Ministry would do that. But yeah, I was just here with my girlfriend and recognized you so I thought I'd come over and see how you were,"  
  
When he mentioned his girlfriend he pointed over to where a girl was sitting and she waved at them. Ginny gave her a little wave back, and then returned her attention to Dean.  
  
"Are you seeing anyone?" he asked.  
  
"No," she answered as the person in front of her finished buying their coffee and moved away so she could go up to the cashier. "So, maybe I'll run into you and your girlfriend again some time."  
  
"Maybe," he said. "I'll be looking forward to reading your next article."  
  
"All right, bye," she said and he walked back over to his table as she stepped up to the counter. "One large coffee, black."  
  
The cashier poured the coffee into a cup and after putting the lid on it, set it in front of Ginny. "Is that all?"  
  
"Yes," she answered, handing him the money and taking her coffee with her before leaving. She thought about seeing Dean, and about how it seemed that wherever she went she was always running into old classmates from Hogwarts. This just goes to show that you can't escape your past.  
  
She made it to her apartment, taking random sips of the warm and tasty liquid that she held so dear, and placed her bag on her table. The smell of the dark liquid wafted to her. Oh how she loved the smell of coffee and the warmth as she drank it and it went down her throat. Coffee was surely one of the world's greatest inventions.  
  
She held the cup of coffee in her right hand as she entered her bedroom. Sprawled out on her bed was a rather large suitcase, and in it were piles of clothes. She had to finish packing for tomorrow she was taking her trip to Hermione's parent's house, where she was staying for the week.  
  
There would be dress shopping, last minute preparations, a bridal shower, the rehearsal, and then finally the actual wedding that was taking place on the Thursday of that week. Friday she would be heading home again, while Hermione and Ron go off on their honeymoon.  
  
As she closed her suitcase, she set down the now empty cup that used to contain coffee, and set the suitcase on the floor. She took a seat on her bed and then laid down facing the ceiling. Life could be so exhausting.  
  
She soon fell asleep unintentionally, and was having the same dream that she had once before. There was the forest, the burning cabin, and the same man who grabbed her hand, only this time she had got the chance to look into his eyes. They were grey, strikingly resembling the eyes of someone she knew.  
  
"Malfoy!" she screamed as she shot up from her bed and looked around. She was back in her room, beads of sweat on her forehead, and all she could think about was the look in those eyes...

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks for the reviews! It's hard to believe that this story only has a few more chapters to go, about two or three. Anyway, this time for reviewing you all get lollipops and t-shirts.  
  
**Please review!**


	20. Train Ride

**Chapter 20**  
  
Malfoy's eyes were distinct, Ginny could have picked them out of a line up, and she was positive that those were his eyes in her dream. The look in his eyes was genuine, and not one bit cold or inconsiderate, which she found quite odd. That meant that he was the mystery man who pulled her away from the burning cabin.  
  
But why would she be dreaming about him saving her? Was it simply some girl fantasy that she could blame on having been forced to read those romance novels? Or was it more then that; did she really feel safe with him? Why the hell couldn't she just forget about the damn bloke and move on? It's not like there was anything special about him.  
  
These thoughts clouded her mind for a good portion of the night and she came to the conclusion that trying to analyze her recurring dream wasn't going to get her anyway, therefore she forced the topic out of her mind and forced herself to fall asleep again.  
  
After recuperating from her dream with a night's rest, having two cups of black coffee, and convincing herself that her dreaming about Malfoy was purely coincidence, most likely due to her subconscious thoughts of him mixed with scenes from a suspense book that she had to read once for her book review column, Ginny was ready for her trip.  
  
She dressed in comfortable clothing, prepared for the hour-long train ride ahead of her. Wheeling her suitcase behind her, Ginny walked onto the platform to wait for the next train headed to London. Traveling was always tiring, and usually quite hectic. Luckily, she had gotten a good night's sleep and was somehow wide-awake.  
  
She stood on the platform, with her large and clunky suitcase beside her, and watched as hoards of people moved about. It was amusing to watch people, and she often found that she could find entertainment by simply observing her surroundings. Some things, of course, were funnier then others, but they passed the time nonetheless.  
  
Muggles were especially interesting to watch, as they milled about using their little contraptions that seemed so strange to a witch like her. Many of these things she learned about from her father, who had an obsession with Muggle inventions, and her old Muggle-studies class certainly taught her some things as well. Despite that, they still boggled her.  
  
One example of this was the lady who walked by wearing a large hat that resembled some sort of bird. Now, what was so fashionable about that? She simply looked as if a bird landed on her head and decided to rest there for a while.  
  
Another thing that Ginny wondered about was how they lived without magic. It was certainly a handy tool to have at your disposal. One thing about Muggles though, they wouldn't be able to handle knowing about magic. It would be too much for them. It was going to be interesting to see how Hermione's family would get along with Ginny's. Her dad would probably be anxious to learn as much as he can from his new dentist in-laws.  
  
A little boy ran by, slightly pushing Ginny forward and pulling her out of her thoughts. She turned around as the mother began to apologize to her before running after her son. She seemed to have no control over the little sandy-haired boy. He looked about seven or eight, and he would not stay in one place for more then two seconds. His mother definitely had her hands full.  
  
Ah, children. How much it seemed that it was just yesterday that Ginny was a child herself... and yet at the same time felt so far away. She remembered her first year at Hogwarts clearly and every year after that. She used to be the little redheaded girl who followed her brother around and formed a crush on his best friend. That was an awkward time for her.  
  
Then she remembered a previous conversation with Hermione. Somehow, Ginny didn't quite remember, they had gotten onto the topic of what Ginny and Draco's children would look like. This was the last thing that she wanted to be thinking about, but for some reason her thoughts would always lead her to think of him.  
  
This time, however, led her on to wonder what Ron and Hermione's children, who would be her nieces and nephews, would look like. Would the girls have bushy brown hair? Would the boys be tall, skinny, and have the bright red Weasley hair? Ginny was going to find out soon enough.  
  
She didn't know how many children they wanted to have, if they were going to follow in her parents footsteps and have loads of children or not, but Ginny knew that she wasn't going to have as many at her mum did. How they were able to raise all of them was a mystery to her, and by the time she moved out she was sick of all the hand-me-downs. A girl could only take so much.  
  
As she was reminiscing about her childhood, the train pulled up to the platform, causing a commotion as crowds of people lined up at the doors. Ginny wedged herself into the group of people, and found her way onto the train. Eventually, when she was beginning to lose hope, she found herself an empty compartment and took a seat.  
  
The train was still loading, but a few minutes later it began moving and she could hear people moving around outside of her compartment. She looked outside the window, as most people have the tendency to do when they are somewhere where there are windows near them. The clouds were dark and gray, and the sky looked as if it were about to rain. She hoped that it would wait until she got to her destination.  
  
Then Ginny pulled out two things, one being the wedding invitation and the other being a random book to pass the time. This book was one of her own choosing, a murder mystery that she thought she wouldn't enjoy, but soon became addicted to.  
  
She was only about twenty pages into it and already hooked, but this was the kind of novel that would be classified as a page-turner because it hooked the reader's interest. Ginny had already had an idea about who was the killer, but you never really knew until you finished the book.  
  
She was at the part where the intelligent, yet strange, inspector was interviewing witnesses and potential suspects. Among them, as was typical with these types of stories; there was the cheating wife, foreign maid, a disgruntled ex-employee, and a seedy acquaintance. To the novice any of these characters could be the murderer, but the mystery lover knew that the killer was usually never the most obvious person, because then it would be all too easy.  
  
Completely occupied by the book, Ginny was unaware of her surroundings. She did not notice as people were stamping around on the train, opening and closing doors, and having loud conversations. In fact, if someone did interrupt her she would probably be angry with them. There are certain times when you do not disturb people, and this was one of them.  
  
Unfortunately, not everyone got the memo, and soon Ginny heard her compartment door slide open. That noise was followed by a bag being set down on the seat across from her and a familiar voice spoke. "All the compartments are full, can I share with you?"  
  
Her mind quickly processed what she had just heard. She was going to scold the person for bothering her, but that was until she heard their voice. It couldn't possibly be him, he wasn't the type of person who would ask politely like he did, but as she slowly looked up she had the feeling in her gut that it had to be him. Women's intuition was telling her that it was so and she was almost too scared to find out the truth.  
  
She eventually pried her eyes away from her book to look up and see that standing several feet away from her was the one person who she was hoping to forget about... Draco Malfoy. What a small world...  
  
Draco Malfoy was at his apartment, eating breakfast that his house elf made for him every morning, and looked at the time. Soon he was going to have to leave, he wouldn't want to miss his train. He was not looking forward to being around Muggles, but his mother expected him to be in London to see her the next day and he wasn't allowed to use any magical means of getting there to see her. The Malfoy's owned a large estate just outside of London, which was his final destination, but while in London he had to pick up something for his mother that she had written to him about in her last letter. Sometimes mother's could be so damn irritating.  
  
He had agreed to go though, hoping that a journey away from home would clear his mind and distract him while at the same time giving him some space from his father, who was not currently at the estate with Draco's mother, but instead off working with some Deatheaters and promoting evil. Something along those lines.  
  
He finished eating and drinking his current cup of black coffee, called his house elf over to take away his empty plate and mug, and then headed off to his bedroom to get his bag that was packed with some reading material, several sets of clothing, and various other 'necessities'.  
  
No matter how hard he tried, all attempts of wiping Ginny Weasley from his memory failed. She was like a stain that wouldn't go away. She was a black mark on his conscience, forcing him to feel guilty even though Malfoy's were not supposed to feel guilty for anything that they do. This was one thing that was constantly bugging him.  
  
Another was that list. First of all, who had enough time to sit down and make a list of all the qualities they hate in someone? It seemed like a waste of time to him, and not only that but to think that she looked upon him in that manner. Did everyone think of him like that?  
  
That didn't matter; he was not the type of person to care what people thought of him, although according to his father he was supposed to work to instill fear in everyone he knows. That was fun some of the time, but yet again pointless. He was not interested in becoming the next Lucius Malfoy, nor was he keen in taking over the Dark Lord's position. All he wanted to do was live life on his own terms, hence why he was now living on his own.  
  
Picking up his bag and slinging it over his shoulder, he left his bedroom and gave his loyal house elf some last orders. He didn't think that he was the meanest 'master', especially when compared to how his father used to order their house elves to beat themselves for doing even the littlest of things and he never really punished his house elf. There was simply no real reason to.  
  
Eventually he left his apartment building, yet again ignoring the doormen who attempted to talk to him as was part of their job to do, and made his way to the train station. He got to the platform right as the train pulled up and cursed to himself and those around him as he pushed himself through the crowd of morons, which he called them, to get onto the train.  
  
Once he was on the train, which was half the battle, he had to walk down the narrow hall and search for an empty compartment. Finally, when he gave up his search and concluded that his quest was in vain and that he was never going to find one, he stopped and opened a door. Without looking into the compartment first, as most people would do, he set his bag down on the seat and entered, saying, "All the compartments are full, can I share with you?" It wasn't really a question, because he was going to share with them whether they liked it or not, but he asked it nonetheless.  
  
Then Draco was shocked as he looked up into the brown eyes of Ginny Weasley. Of all the trains in the world, why did she have to be on his?

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**A/N:** I have good news, I got a 97 on my SAT Review algebra test, highest in the class. Yayness! Anyway, thanks for the great reviews! It was thanks to them that I decided to write this chapter tonight, even though I'm tired from school... and it's only a Tuesday.  
  
**Please review!**


	21. The Meeting

**Chapter 21**  
  
Draco and Ginny's eyes locked for several seconds. What a site, a Weasley and a Malfoy looking at each other, without a trace of hatred. There was anger, confusion, and longing shining through; neither of them had time to put their guard up. Both of them were startled at their meeting. It seemed as if fate had this planned all along. Neither one of them wanted to see the other, yet at the same time they were only people who they could think about.  
  
After that brief period of confrontation, Draco quickly picked his bag back up and made to leave. He didn't know what to say to her, especially since she had made it clear on that piece of paper that she never wanted to even think about him. That was why he was going to get out of there, even if that meant squeezing into a compartment with fifty chipmunks and a fat lady.  
  
Ginny, noticing that Draco was about to leave without another word, felt compelled to stop him. Even though she was still mad with him, she knew it was only fair to let him stay. Besides, subconsciously she wanted to be with him, and in that sense his presence was not at all unwelcome.  
  
So, as he was about to step out of the compartment, she finally spoke. "You can share with me," she said to him, answering his previous question.  
  
He stopped, not sure whether to take her up on her offer or leave. Although he considered the latter option, he ultimately decided to stay. He was in no mood to go through all of the compartments again, and he knew that this was most likely the only empty space on entire train.  
  
Defeated, he silently took a seat across from the redhead, setting his bag beside him. She always seemed to get her way. What was it about her that bothered him so? He tried to look at anything, anything but her. 'Must not let her know I want to look at her', he thought to himself. His eyes wandered aimlessly over the window, the floor, her suitcase, the book in her hands...  
  
Ginny desperately tried to continue reading her novel, but was unsuccessful. She read over the same paragraph seven or eight times, not fully comprehending the information. Her mind was too busy thinking about how Draco was sitting only several feet away from her. Something about his presence made her unable to concentrate, no matter how hard she tried.  
  
Thankfully he couldn't read her mind. If he could then it would have been the end for her. She was thinking back to her dream, in which he was the guest star. If only he knew that she was dreaming about him... He would probably laugh in her face, insult her, and then go off and tell Cho so she could throw it in Ginny's face. Ok, maybe not to that extreme, but she was still angry that he told Cho she stole papers from him.  
  
She kept telling herself not to look up, although every bone in her body wanted her to. She had to keep pretending to be reading, that way it would seem as if she moved on. She didn't want him to know that he was a reoccurring topic of her daily thoughts and contemplations. 'Must look like I am focused on the book...'  
  
Little did she know that he was also thinking thoughts along the same lines. Being an awkward moment for both of them, seeing as they were so tempted to look at each other, it seemed to last an eternity. They both sat in silence, scolding themselves for wanting to converse with the other person. The frustrated couple had minds swarming with questions and accusations, sitting in a compartment that was full of tension so thick that it could have been cut with a knife, a dull knife at that.  
  
Ginny would not let herself be the first one to crack. She could not let him know how he had affected her. He knew everything, well almost everything, and she wanted him to think that their time spent together did not change her one bit. That was something she even had trouble convincing herself was true. Why did she think he would believe it?  
  
Draco, being a Malfoy, was an expert at concealing his emotion, but at this moment in time all he wanted to do was let it out. That he would not allow. He had a reputation to uphold, and he would not ruin it in the presence of a Weasley. She was a person who had grown on him, but still underneath it all she was a Weasley, first and foremost. He needed her to think that he could care less what she thought of him, even though deep down he knew that was not true.  
  
This everlasting moment was at last disturbed at the train came to an abrupt halt. A loud screeching was heard, the sound of the train was dying down, and everything was jolted forward as the train came to a complete stop. Among these things was Ginny, whose book went flying in the air and smacking Draco's head as she took a nosedive onto the floor.  
  
It took her a moment to process what had just happened. She touched her head, where she had hit it on the bench oppose her seat, and slowly got up from the floor. Regaining her composure, she brushed off her clothes and sat back down at her seat. She had a slight bump on her head, but other then that she was fine.  
  
Looking up, she realized that Draco had been staring at her the whole time since the stopping of the train. Her book was resting on the floor by his feet, where it had landed after the collision with his blonde head. He had not been moved from his spot, but his bag had slid to the floor and he had yet to pick it up. It seemed as if all of his attention was focused on the girl in front of him, as he gawked at her with a blank expression on his face.  
  
This was the straw that broke the camel's back. She promised herself that she would not let him know he got to her, but she couldn't help it. She had to yell and scream that was how infuriated he made her. He hadn't even asked her if she was all right, all he did was sit there and stare at her like a mindless moron. What was his problem?  
  
"What is wrong with you?" she spat. She didn't hate him, not any more, but she was still angry. She wanted an explanation, hoping that there was actually a valid reason behind his betrayal. Did that even count as betrayal? It's not like she ever had his loyalty to begin with. She was simply a game to him, nothing more, nothing less. This she knew, but she didn't want to believe it.  
  
He had actually begun to seem more human to her, but then he had to go and act like the pompous idiot she had always known his as. That kiss... surely that wasn't the kiss of the same person before her now, who had consorted with her enemy.  
  
As she plucked her thoughts away and looked at the man in front of her, she realized that he had not answered her. He was still sitting there speechless. This caused her to become even more enraged, memories of her conversation with Cho fresh in her mind.  
  
"Aren't you going to say anything, ferret?" she asked, her face becoming slightly red. She added the last part knowing that with his arrogance and pride it would irritate him, forcing him to at least acknowledge her presence.  
  
Draco, who had been staring at Ginny for some time, broke out of his spell. He hadn't realized that he had been staring, but his thoughts consumed every inch of his attention. Yes, the way she was treating him did reflect the awful things she wrote about him, but he had a right to be angry with her and she didn't. So why was she yelling at him? He had helped her; he thought that he deserved more gratitude then that, seeing as she gave him none.  
  
"Nothing that is worth saying to the likes of you," he replied coldly, trying to seem distant and unattached. Would she be able to see right through his cold hard exterior into where he actual held, gasp, feelings?  
  
"What are you doing here anyway?" Ginny responded. He was acting like the same old Malfoy. That shouldn't be surprising, but it bothered her. Her question was reasonable though, what would a Malfoy be doing on a Muggle train headed to London?  
  
"Going to visit my mother," Draco honestly replied. He felt compelled to ask her the same, yet at the same time trying to retain his dignity. "Not that it's any of your business. What about you?"  
  
"I'm going to my brother's wedding," she answered almost immediately before wondering why she had even given him an answer to begin with. What did he care anyway? She hoped that the train would start up again soon, because nothing was worse then being stuck on a train with a Malfoy, even if she did have the slightest bit of feeling for him.  
  
"The Weasel actually found someone, eh? That's a shocker," he responded, sounding like himself again. He couldn't believe that the dirt poor, skinny, tall redhead would ever find a wife, and so soon. It was not until after Draco spoke did he realize that he had just insulted a member of Ginny's family. Oh well, she had insulted him in black and white.  
  
"Leave my brother out of this," she said harshly, feeling the need to defend her older brother. He could be a flake sometimes, and he did have the worst taste of anyone ever to live and breathe, but he was still her loving, caring, and overprotective brother. She had to love him. Plus she knew what it was like to have an annoying nickname; she had been called Weaselette for a good part of her youth; no thanks to Malfoy.  
  
"Who is he marrying?" Draco asked inquisitively, ignoring Ginny's usually vicious nature. In all honesty he could care less who Ronald Weasley was marrying, but he thought that this conversation could divert them from the real source of their tension.  
  
"Hermione," she simply replied, wanting to sustain him and hoping that if she answered his question he would lay off it.  
  
"Figures. Those two deserve each other," He should have known that the know-it-all would be the woman who would agree to marry the Weasel. In fact, he probably would have figured that out on his own, seeing as he was naturally brilliant, if he wasn't preoccupied with other thoughts. Slowly he recalled the beginning of the list...  
  
Ginny, meanwhile, stood up to face him. She wanted to punch him, but even more then that she wanted him to apologize. He lied about her, and to her worst enemy of all people! And even after that, he had the audacity to stand before her and act like nothing ever happened. As if she were the one to do him wrong. Ha!  
  
"You are the foulest prat that it has ever been my displeasure to be an acquaintance of!" she shouted at him, her red face growing even redder and her already red hair making her radiant like some sort of angry goddess.  
  
She looked into his eyes after letting out her insult, and saw that he had been expecting something along those lines, yet at the same time there was confusion in the smoky nebulous of his silver grey eyes that were so distinct.  
  
What was that? Was his hearing correct? She was yelling at him for being a prat, that he should have expected after reading the top of the list, but the way he saw the situation he had more reason to be mad at her then she did to be mad at him. She had thought she could use him for a story, and then when he helped her all he received in response was a cold shoulder. Then later he gets a package in the mail containing a list, written by her, naming off things about him that apparently make her hate him. What had he done to deserve this attitude? Yes, he had picked on her in school, but considering how he could have done a lot of bad things to her and didn't, he still had the sole right to be angry.

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**A/N:** Thanks for reviewing! I have time enough to reply to one person:  
  
**MemoriesOfYou-** You shall see, and as for the Harry in a thong thing, that's just scary... lol.  
  
Thanks again to everyone else!  
  
**Please review! **


	22. Secrets Revealed

**Chapter 22**  
  
Draco stood up, towering over Ginny by a good five inches. You would think that the larger and more muscular man in front of her would intimidate her, but she wasn't. One thing about this woman was that it took a lot to scare her, and she had never been terrified of Draco before anyway. Besides, Gryffindors were known to be brave and to them Draco Malfoy was more of a joke and an annoyance then anything else.  
  
Her insult fed to the fire of his anger, causing it to grow to the point that he could no longer contain himself. He was not going to sit back and let Ginny, nay a Weasley, stand there and insult him. Did she have no respect?  
  
Obviously not for him. She hated him. That was blatantly clear to him now, but that didn't mean he would accept it. After all, he did had a right to hate her instead, but didn't. He was only offended and upset that she viewed him in such a light. Why should he stand by as she insulted him in every way imaginable, especially while he had no clue as to why she was so mad at him to begin with?  
  
These questions fluttered in his mind and, to his exasperation, he had no answers for them. She had started this whole thing to begin with, so she could hardly place any blame on his part. So what was this now? Had she felt this way the entire time?  
  
His attention turned from these ponderings back to the redhead in front of him with the temper as bad as the Weasley's were known to have. That's right, her hair was back to her natural red shade now, he hadn't noticed until that minute. The blonde hair had complimented her, but nothing compared to how she looked with her hair red. He decided within seconds that he liked her better this way, even if the hair change came along with a change in attitude as well.  
  
Reminding himself that he was mad at her, he prepared to return some witty form of vituperation her way, but to no avail. He wasn't sure where to start, with all the thoughts that were in his mind. Thinking would have done him no good anyway, because his anger had caused him to lose control over his tongue and soon he lashed back out on the woman with whom he was completely consumed.  
  
"And whose fault is that but your own!" he spat, pointing out a valid point. It was her choice to converse with him in the first place, regardless of her reasons why. "You are nothing more than a typical intolerable and good-for-nothing Weasley with bad taste, bad manners, and complete disrespect for those that are above you."  
  
He didn't mean the words that he said, at least not completely anyway. At one point in time he would have agreed to all of the above earnestly, back when he knew basically nothing about her and spent absolutely no time with her. He was taught to view people in such a way, that no one was as good as him and his family name. To be candid, if he had known who she was before he asked her out then it would have never happened. His life would have stayed the same, he wouldn't have gotten that chance to indirectly attack his father, and he wouldn't have spent so many hours thinking about this woman who had somehow pried her way into his mind.  
  
In all honesty he did not currently view her in such a negative light, and it was only because she saw him as such a vile person that he held any bit of contempt towards her. He was too busy being occupied with pondering her hatred for him and his anger for her that he didn't realize his view on her had changed. He was ignoring the fact that she had such an affect on him. He had yet to come to terms with the reality that he felt something for someone else.  
  
Looking ahead of him, he awaited her response to his hurtful words. How did he want her to react? Draco was not sure what he had wanted and somewhere deep down he knew that these harsh words were not getting either of them anywhere.  
  
Ginny, who had been standing in front of him with frustration pouring out of her, was clenching her fists as she awaited his response to her statement, that is if he decided to give one. When she heard the words he so disdainfully spat at her, each one struck a nerve in her body. She didn't want to cry, although if he had said this to her when she was younger then she probably would have.  
  
No, tears were not her response, but instead she was left feeling incomplete. She was not a stupid witch, and as much as her temper caused many a fight, in the end she knew that this bickering was not going to get solve anything.  
  
What Ginny wanted, and in some way needed, was for an explanation. That is, of course, if Draco had an explanation for anything that he did. Perhaps he did not care about her in any way, which was a likely possibility with someone like him, and if so then he would have no inclination for her feelings and no need for an explanation.  
  
She knew that he was right; it was her fault for all of this. She just had to come up with the idea of using Draco for an article and then resorted to dating him in order to find evidence. Why did she allow herself to do that when she could have found some other means of collecting information? Well, the most apparent reason is that dating him was easier and another was so it would be like a slap in the face for him. She had broken one of the reporters by bringing personal emotions into her job.  
  
Either way, the insults that he was flinging upon her were uncalled for. Plus he hadn't just insulted her, he insulted her family and that was going too far. She never viewed Malfoy as being above her; actually it was quite the opposite. He may be a wealthy member of the wizarding community, but he had no morals or values and his father was a Deatheater. Enough said.  
  
She kept her eyes on his, which happened to be her favorite part of him. She could stare at his eyes for hours, they seemed to tell everything and yet at the same time nothing about Draco. Was he really this cold or was he more then he appeared?  
  
"You are such an insolent bastard, but you are right about one thing," she began, her reply letting out more emotion then she would like him to see. "I do have bad taste. Look what I almost fell for!" The last part she said gesturing to him, and then put her hand over her mouth after realizing what she had just let slip.  
  
That was, in itself, a partial lie. She would not admit to the fact that she had indeed fallen for him, and she fell hard. Hell, she even had to break up with Harry because of the way things were going with him! Luckily though, her words did not sound false to the ear and he would not be able to detect the falsehood with which she spoke.  
  
Draco's ears suddenly perked up. What was that? She just said that she 'almost' fell for him, so that means he did get under her skin. But then why was she being so mean to him? He knew that she meant her remark to offend him, but he took it in another way. That meant that his charms had worked on her, which was quite the compliment.  
  
Although this should make him happy, he was still mad at her. He did not understand why she held so much disdain for him. He watched as she covered her mouth, implying that she had not meant to tell him that. Normally he would let a sly grin creep across his face and use this information to his advantage, but he was too confused for that.  
  
"Well, seeing as I'm such a- what did you call me?" he said, referring back to the list. "Oh right, an arrogant, vain, rude, smug bastard, among other things, I'm surprised that you would waste your precious time pointing out even more insults to fling at me."  
  
He closed his mouth, waiting to see how she would respond. He could careless if she knew that he knew about the list, for all he knew she was the one who sent it to him in the first place.  
  
As Ginny listened to his reply, and wondered what he was talking about. When had she called him those things? Then she remembered, the list. She had written several of those qualities on it, but she crumpled up the list and threw it in the trash. How would he have gotten his hands on it? That was the last time she would ever make a list again.  
  
Then something occurred to her, it had to have been Cho! After all, she knew those two talked and Cho worked at the same newspaper with her, therefore she could have easily went through her office looking for something to use against her- and she found the list. Ginny tried not to put any names on the list, but then without noticing she wrote one of the reasons using Draco's last name.  
  
So that was how Cho was able to figure it out, but the nerve of her going through her stuff. Ginny didn't need any evidence or convincing to prove to her that it was all Cho because she knew that Cho was the type of person to go through someone's office.  
  
She decided to pretend like she had no idea what he was talking about, just in case he didn't know about the list or he never saw it with his own eyes, both of which she was hoping for. After all, you can't put the blame on someone unless you have the proof to back it up. Ok, Ginny was being a hypocrite, but with Cho it was a different story.  
  
"I don't know what you are talking about," Ginny replied solemnly. "But I believe that this is a waste of both of our time."  
  
He knew that she was lying, for it was definitely written by her hand. "I believe that you are aware of exactly what I am talking about. Let me refresh your memory, a list that went by the name of 'Reasons Why I Must Stop Thinking About You Know Who', which happened to be a list of everything you hate about me."  
  
Damn it! He knew about the list, no doubt read it himself, but if that was indeed true then why did he think it was simply a list about things she hated about him? Even she knew that the purpose of the list changed as it went on, and what were once only insults became reasons for why even she could not resist his charms.  
  
It was for this reason that she replied, "Oh, that list. What do you mean it was a list about everything I hate about you? Did you even read the whole thing?"  
  
"I read enough to get the main idea that you held me in contempt and I saw no point in continuing just to read even more insults then necessary," he answered, wondering why she would ask him such a stupid question.  
  
"Well, if you took some time to read down further then you would see that it said I like you," she responded, wanting to hit him over his head for his stupidity. So that was why he was so mad at her! Just because he was too lazy to read the entire thing.  
  
Her comment took him by surprise. Was she telling him the truth? She liked him? Then why was she treating him so? How could a list that was so insulting turn into revealing that she had feelings for him? This was utterly astonishing. "Is that true?"  
  
"No, I just said that to see how you would react," she replied sarcastically and then continued because she knew that he might not realize her sarcastic tone. "Of course it's true."  
  
"Then- then why are you so angry with me?" he asked, not understanding her at all. At one point he thought he did, he thought that he could read her emotions and understand her actions, but now she was an enigma to him. If there even was a reason of why she acted the way she did towards him then he had no idea as to what that reason was.

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**A/N:** Finally the 22nd chapter as you requested. This will be continued into the next chapter, so don't worry. There are still about two chapters to go, or maybe more, this is taking longer then I expected. Thanks for the reviews!  
  
**Please review!** (and I will update within the next couple days) 


	23. Excuses

**Chapter 23**  
  
"What?" Ginny shrieked at Draco, her face flushed with excitement. He should know why she was mad at him! How could he stand in front of her and pretend like he had no idea why she was upset? How could he be so stupid? He mustn't have thought that it was ok to go around and tell people that kind of false information.  
  
"I asked you why you are angry with me-" he began tiredly, annoyed at having to repeat himself. It was quite amusing to see an angry Ginny, she could be one angry woman, but at the same time he was curious as to why. Did she even have a good reason or was it some woman thing?  
  
He no longer had an actual reason to be mad at her anymore. If only he didn't throw away that list then he could finish reading it, but that didn't matter. Why would she lie about something like that? Apparently she likes him, but she certainty wasn't acting like it. Well, she has always been on the odd side, so maybe that has something to do with it...  
  
"I heard you the first time!" she yelled, throwing up her arms. He must think that she is dense, for he is definitely treating her like she is. The fact that he was acting dumb and as if she was simply insane was what irritated her even more. Her face went into a stern expression, she pointed her finger at him, and she said, while sounding much like her mother when she was mad at her brothers or father, "You know what I am talking about."  
  
She had to admit though, as angry as she was it felt much better to let out her feelings on the person who had been causing them. Plus it was better in the long run to get everything out in the open, especially after all of the hidden secrets and assumptions that each of them had made on their own.  
  
He sighed and then honestly replied, "No I don't," He had no clue as to what she was referring. How did she expect him to know what she was talking about when she wouldn't even give him a clue as to what it was about? He wasn't physic.  
  
"I know it's difficult for you, but try to think real hard," she said sardonically. She was getting fed up with him. For a supposedly smart and clever wizard, he could act pretty thick at times. Not only thick, but also impossible. Plus 'at times' was more often then she would have liked. Draco gave her a look, and so she added, "Let me give you a hint. Two words: Cho Chang."  
  
That was more then a hint, that was handing over her reasoning on a silver platter while he lounged in a Jacuzzi and sipping on some Butter beer. If he didn't realize what she was talking about now then he either had memory problems or he was so insensitive that he could not understand it was wrong to talk to people's enemies about them, especially when you are lying.  
  
There was also a third, but very unlikely, option that entailed Draco being a brainless dimwit who only appeared to be bright. Maybe things would have been simpler if this was the case, then again maybe not. If there was one truly irritating kind of person in the world then it was the type who were blundering morons and practically impossible, not to mention frustrating, to deal with.  
  
The gears of Draco's mind began turning. Cho Chang, where had he heard that name before? She went to Hogwarts with them, was on Ravenclaw's Quidditch team... oh, and was the reporter that he met up with several weeks ago. But what did she have to do with Ginny?  
  
'Well, they do work at the same newspaper together if I do recall,' Draco began thinking. 'What did I talk to her about? Right, she asked me about Ginny... Now that I think about it I never asked why she asked about her,' Then it all clicked, or at least partially. It was as if a light bulb was just gone on above his head. 'I told Cho that Ginny was a thief. That must be why she is mad, but technically she did steal those papers...'  
  
"So," Ginny said impatiently, interrupting Draco's train of thought and turning his attention to the redhead. With her hands on her hips and her hair wildly resting on her shoulders, she asked, "Figure it out yet?"  
  
His eyes on hers once again, he calmly replied, "I think so. Does this pertain to my conversation with your colleague Cho Chang?"  
  
He figured the best thing to do was to go with it and see what was bothering her so much. Playing dumb would not help him in this situation, especially with her in the mood that she was currently in. She was scolding him like a mother did when her children turned their pet cat into a cross between a tiger and an antelope, or something along those lines.  
  
So he did know! He wasn't that dense after all. "Ding ding ding, we have a winner people!" Ginny exclaimed sarcastically, receiving a raised eyebrow from her current companion. Finally she would get to find out the other side of the story concerning Draco and Cho. Not sure where to begin, she let her mouth do the talking without carefully pondering her inquiries.  
  
"How could you be such a backstabbing arse? Do you even have an excuse?"  
  
"An excuse for what?" he asked. She wasn't being very specific. Once again she was acting as though he could read her mind, which was something that he couldn't do, no matter how much he wished he could. "An excuse for talking to her?"  
  
She ignored his question and asked, "What were you doing talking to her anyway?" That seemed to be an important question, although she was still expecting a proper answer to her previous questions. If he did have an excuse then she wouldn't have to be so upset that she liked him, like she had been ever since she found out.  
  
Not even bothering to debate whether or not to answer this question, it was evident to him that it would not injure him by telling her and it was indeed a matter of low importance. Besides, he knew that if he didn't answer any of her questions then she would start flipping out on him again and he would never get the opportunity to hear why she was this distraught.  
  
With that thought in his mind he responded coolly with, "She sent me a letter saying that it was urgent I meet up with her at some cafe. I thought that it was going to be important, so I went and she asked me about you."  
  
"Really? That sneaky snake. I can't stand her!" she stopped herself short, realizing that she was mumbling to herself. With a quick fake smile she went back to interrogating him. "What exactly did you tell her?"  
  
He was a bit hesitant, knowing that she was going to be angry after he said it, but him being as confident as he was born to be, went on with it anyway with surprising ease. "Only the truth, that you stole those papers from my apartment."  
  
He was right; his words incensed the fiery woman. "That is a lie! I did not steal those papers; you put them there on purpose. That doesn't count as stealing!" she knew that he would come at her with some absurd comment like that, but she felt that she was right. If he put them there on purpose so that she would take them then it doesn't count as her stealing. "You almost got me fired!"  
  
"What?" he asked. So that was why she was angry, but what did he have to do with her close encounter of being fired?  
  
"Cho hates me, she told my boss what you told her, hoping that he would fire me. Luckily he didn't and fired her instead, but for a different reason. Why did you say that to Cho in the first place? Not that I would expect you to have a good excuse."  
  
"You wrote that list! I thought you hated me," he replied immediately. "I was angry. Do I need more of an excuse?"  
  
"You weren't supposed to read it in the first place!" Ginny cried out, exhausted from trying to deal with this situation. It seemed pointless. Was it even reasonable to think that a Malfoy and a Weasley could ever see eye to eye? Ginny thought so.  
  
"And that is my fault? I didn't even want to read it," he retorted. She couldn't possibly blame him for receiving a package and opening it out of curiosity. She probably would have done the same thing if something like that were mailed to her. It was not after you read at least part of it to realize that you wish you hadn't opened it.  
  
"Well if you had to read it then you might as well have read the whole thing instead of being an arse and making bloody assumptions!"  
  
"What do you want me to do? Apologize? Well I can't help you on that one, Malfoys do not apologize," he snapped, getting annoyed at her attitude. He had liked her, much to his dislike after finding out who she was, when she had acted like herself. Why did she have to make his life difficult? He was fine until she jumped into the picture.  
  
Ginny was repulsed by his remark, and wasn't quite sure how to take it. She was hurt. Did he not care for her at all? He wasn't acting like he did. There was a split second when she thought that there was even a possibility that he did, the kiss being her only real evidence, but now she just was left feeling dumb. She felt crushed, stomped on, carelessly broken and thrown aside.  
  
"Fine, I understand now," she said despondently in a low voice as she looked away from him. She was throwing in her towel, waving a white flag, surrendering...  
  
She did not sense the desperation in his voice, nor the subtle signs that he felt similar to how she had been feeling this entire time. When you are preoccupied with your own feelings then you often miss these subtle signs as she did. Now, after that fleeting moment she realized how much she had just revealed to Draco. She had to leave; being around him any longer would just be torture.  
  
Right at the same moment that she made her decision to go, it was like the gods were giving her a sign not to. The train sharply began moving again, throwing everything backward this time. Before anyone knew what had happened, Ginny found herself on the floor, but that wasn't the worst part. The floor was moving, breathing even, and she looked down to see why.  
  
She was lying on top of Draco. She quickly pulled herself off of him and brushed herself off. He got up right after her. Neither of them said a word as they both regained balance and Ginny grabbed the handle of her suitcase.  
  
She kept to her plan and opened the compartment door, exiting the compartment and straining her neck to stop herself from looking back. Keeping her gaze in front of her, she walked down the hall in hopes that there was space for her on another part of the train.  
  
Draco, meanwhile, was left alone and confused. He wasn't sure what had just happened, and he didn't understand what he was feeling. What had he just done? He drove away the only person he had ever felt this way for. Good going Draco.  
  
His eyes surveyed the empty spot she left behind, the book that was still on the floor, and then they caught notice of something. There was a piece of paper sitting on her seat. Curious, he picked it up. 'Weasel and Mudblood's wedding...'

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**A/N:** Wow! **Thanks for all the reviews**! Sorry I didn't get this out sooner, but life interrupted my schedule. At least I didn't wait too long to work on it. Hope you all like it so far, about one or two chapters left. -Tear drop- I know I'll miss writing this.  
  
Anyway, **please review!**


	24. A Word of Advice

**Chapter 24**  
  
It wasn't until Ginny made it to the complete other side of the train when she finally found refuge in a compartment that was only containing one old lady in it. She opened the door, pulled in her suitcase, and collapsed on the bench opposite the lady. Normally she would have made use of some good manners, but she was tired after running around the train for about half and hour.  
  
After a couple minutes of calming herself down, Ginny looked up at the woman with a small smile and said, "I hope you don't mind me sharing this compartment with you, but it was the only one I saw that had enough room."  
  
She studied the woman's features; her wrinkled skin, light gray hair, moth eaten clothes, and there was even dead flowers on her hat. The only thing that didn't fit into this decrepit picture was the old woman's eyes. They sparkled with something akin to youth and joy in their strange mix of green and brown, even a small bit of gold.  
  
For some odd reason, this old woman mesmerized Ginny, as if she held a secret that Ginny had been searching for. The woman had both of her wrinkled hands together, resting on her dusty green purse, and she smiled to reveal white teeth.  
  
"No deary, I don't mind one bit," she replied cordially. The sparkle of her eyes danced around as they looked over Ginny, reminding her of Dumbledore. He had always had a sparkle in his blue eyes. What was it with this Muggle woman?  
  
They sat in silence for a couple more minutes, Ginny's eyes kept returning to the old woman. Finally, she decided to break the silence. Perhaps starting a conversation with this woman would distract Ginny from subconsciously replaying her scene with Draco over and over again like she did before in similar circumstances. Ginny offered her hand to the woman across from her and said in a friendly manner, "It's nice to meet you. I'm Ginny Weasley."  
  
The woman took her hand and they shook, but afterwards the lady held Ginny's hand with one of her hands over it and the other underneath. Her hands were cold to the touch, but Ginny didn't want to be rude and pull her hand away from her.  
  
"You must be on your way to the Granger and Weasley wedding then," she responded, shocking Ginny with her remark. Her eyes penetrated into Ginny's, and for a second it felt as if all stood still. Slightly woozy and confused, Ginny fell back into her seat.  
  
"How- how do you know that?" Ginny asked while breathing heavily, beginning to get spooked by this old woman. She was starting to doubt that her companion was a Muggle at all; there was just something about her that she couldn't quite put her finger on.  
  
The lady smiled. "I know all, dear."  
  
What was that supposed to mean? Either this woman was mad or she was more then a woman- maybe a witch or a god or a guardian angel of some sort, if those exist...  
  
The woman broke Ginny's concentration when she continued talking. "Of course we exist, love. I have been watching over you since you were a wee little babe."  
  
Ginny got the impression that this- this guardian angel as the woman said she was- was either Irish or Scottish. Either way though, she know the woman could read minds, for she had to have been reading Ginny's mind to say that to her. Her heart was racing, who ever though that she would meet her guardian angel?  
  
"You are my-" Ginny began, not sure where to start. What does one do when they meet their guardian angel? It was all too strange, but this incident had proved to wipe Draco completely off Ginny's mind. Well, not completely, but she was much less focused on him when she began talking to what only appeared to be an old lady.  
  
"Your guardian angel," the lady completed for her with another smile. "My how you have grown. What a fine young woman... You will make your husband proud."  
  
"So, why are you here?" Ginny asked the first question that came to mind, which seemed to be an important one to her. She had never met her guardian angel in all of her years of existence, so why would she pop up now?  
  
"You were in distress and I felt that I needed to give you a bit of advice," she answered warmly. Her eyes were kept on Ginny's the whole time, emitting a feeling of warmth and safety. Ginny's interest was peaked, and her ears were listening.  
  
"What it is?" Ginny asked after waiting for her guardian angel to tell her. She didn't bother to analyze her visitor or the form that she took in order to converse with her. Ginny was too busy thinking about other things, such as what advice could be so important that she would have to tell her face-to-face. What could it be about?  
  
"Oh right, the advice," the old lady replied, appearing as if even she forgot what she was talking about. "Yes, it was... follow your heart."  
  
When she said her three words of wisdom she took Ginny's hand and placed it over her heart. Then they both smiled. Ginny was not sure what she was happy about, but was immersed in a strange feeling of joy. The woman gave her a hug, and then after releasing her she smiled at her again, and then with the snap of two fingers she was gone.  
  
Ginny was left alone, staring at the empty space in front of her. The feeling of joy was gone and replaced by a feeling of confusion. Had she just imagined that conversation? Was she going insane? Or did she really just speak to her guardian angel? How would she ever know?  
  
As if she were answering her question, the lady's hat appeared on the seat across from her, and Ginny watched as the dead flowers decorating it turned into live ones, beautiful roses and tulips full of color and a sweet fragrance that was wafting over to Ginny.  
  
Suddenly she knew that she was not insane, and all of that did indeed just happen. She was left alone with only those three words to ponder. 'Follow your heart...' But what exactly did she mean by that? What if Ginny wasn't sure what was in her heart or what if what was in her heart didn't make any sense at all?  
  
She stayed in that compartment for the rest of the trip, which wasn't really that long after all. When the train stopped at the London platform, Ginny hurried out, dragging her suitcase behind her. Not wanting to run into Draco- 'Must start thinking of him as Malfoy again'- again, she quickly made her way out of the train station. Outside she hailed a yellow Taxi and told the driver the address of Hermione's parent's house. She had somehow memorized it and did not feel like taking out the invitation to check.  
  
Soon the cab arrived in a neighborhood that contained a load of various colored houses, all with fresh cut lawns, and at least one car in the driveway. The Taxi pulled up in front of a light yellow house with blue shutters. Getting out of the cab and taking her suitcase, she thought to herself 'this definitely looks like Muggles live here. A cheery looking home indeed.' She wondered if her parents had beat her there yet as she made her way up the driveway and remembered that she was supposed to press the button so people would know that she was there. 'What is that called again... a doorbell?'  
  
The door was opened, revealing Hermione. She gave Ginny a hug excitedly, and pulled her into the house. Ginny didn't even get a chance to saw two words when Hermione began rambling on and on. "I'm glad you finally made it. How was the trip? Not too bad I hope... Your parents are here; Mr. Weasley is getting along great with my dad... I can't wait for Thursday; all the preparations are pretty much done... The rehearsal is Monday and the bridal shower is Tuesday. Did you get a dress yet? We will have to go shopping right away... You will love the shops here, I'm sure you'll find something that you like..."  
  
Ginny couldn't keep up with her friend who seemed to want to get everything out in two minutes like she was seeing how fast she could talk. She took Hermione by her shoulders and said, "Calm down Hermione, start from the beginning and this time go slow."  
  
Hermione laughed, apologized, and then asked her how her trip there was. Ginny replied, telling her that it was nothing to talk about and then changed the subject to their parents. She didn't want to tell Hermione about Draco, she didn't even want to think about it, and she didn't even know how to describe the encounter with her guardian angel.  
  
The house was very tidy, and Ginny found herself sitting in a parlor room with Hermione by her side continuing on with the information she felt was important for Ginny to know. The official wedding was set for Thursday, and it was only currently Saturday.  
  
Tomorrow Hermione was forcing her to go dress and shoe shopping, Monday was of course the wedding rehearsal, then Tuesday the bridal shower, and finally Wednesday was the most relaxed of the days. Wednesday there were no real plans, only going out for dinner and such, plus double-checking on all of the preparations, making sure that everything is perfect.  
  
Then Thursday was the big day, that night Ron and Hermione were going off on their four day honeymoon to some place in Japan that their travel agent suggested, Hermione's parents preferred that she went on a honeymoon the Muggle way because they wanted to pay for it as a wedding present. Arthur Weasley readily agreed, asking his son to describe to him what it was like flying on an 'airflane'.  
  
Friday Ginny was heading back to her own apartment, after saying good-bye to everyone. She would get to see all of her brothers in one place for once, and for that she was excited. She occasionally saw Fred and George, who had opened their joke shop before she even graduated Hogwarts and they became very successful, but she didn't get to see Bill or Charlie that much. Percy was no one's favorite family member, so she wasn't as excited to see him. Actually, Ron wasn't even going to invite him to the wedding, but their mum made him.  
  
After a long discussion on the topic of Hermione's impending wedding, Ginny looked up to see a group of people enter the room. In that group was her brother Ron, her parents, and Hermione's parents, who were the ones leading the way.  
  
"Mum, Dad," Hermione said to them. "Meet Ginny Weasley."  
  
Hermione's parents walked towards her and they shook hands with her. "So you are the youngest one of them all I hear."  
  
Ginny replied politely, "Yes I am, it's nice to meet you both."  
  
Then her own parents came in, and after seeing her, her mother pulled her into a tight hug. "Uh, mum, I can't breathe," Ginny struggled to say, and then Molly Weasley let go of her daughter.  
  
"You never write me anymore," her mother said to her apprehensively. "How am I supposed to know what is going on in your life if you don't keep in touch?"  
  
"Sorry mum," Ginny responded. Her mother was always worried about all of them. She didn't really have an excuse, so she said the only thing she could think of. "I've been busy."

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**A/N:** Thanks for reviewing! I know I've been saying these for a while now, but there still are about one or two chapters left, depending on how it all goes when I write them.  
  
**Please review!** (if you hadn't noticed I wait until I get about 4-6 reviews before I update, hint hint) 


	25. Dress Shopping

**Chapter 25**  
  
Saturday turned into Sunday, and soon Ginny was being dragged around London by an over anxious, and quite determined, Hermione. Hermione was not a natural born shopper, but when it came to anything to do with her wedding she would always become zealous. She was, of course, a perfectionist and wanted everything done properly. In order for that to be complete, her maid of honor had to have proper dress attire.  
  
It was for that reason that Ginny was standing in the rain, her arm being yanked by her best friend who was attempting to pull her into the twenty-fifth store that afternoon. It seemed like they had been to every store in London already, but according to Hermione they hadn't. She reluctantly entered the store, a small ding of a bell was heard as she stepped in and let the door slam behind her. After brushing the water off her clothes and wiping her shoes on the rug, she looked up to see a somewhat scary looking saleswoman smiling at her.  
  
"Hello there, good afternoon," the woman said. She was a plump lady, with puffy blonde hair and large rosy cheeks. She was wearing a light pink jacket with a matching skirt and her chubby feet were squeezed into a pair of heels. "Can I help you with anything?"  
  
Before Ginny had the chance to say one word, or even give the woman an evil glare, Hermione popped up and began speaking to her. "Yes, we are looking for a dress for her, it's for my wedding and she is going to be my maid of honor..."  
  
They began discussing colors and dress styles, leaving Ginny to stand there alone and take a peek at the store. There were racks of clothing everywhere and near the door was a counter with a machine on top of it, a cash register. Some god-awful music was being played throughout the store, and Ginny actually considered making a run for it. Then she decided against it, because she knew that Hermione would make her go shopping again.  
  
Now don't get Ginny wrong, there is nothing wrong with shopping, it is a perfectly normal thing to do, but it is not her favorite choice in activities. She hated salespeople who attack you the minute you enter a store and put pressure on you to buy something. Growing up in the Weasley household they didn't have a lot of money to go shopping with, so Ginny got used to not spending much money. Yes, she would have liked to get new things, but her parents simply couldn't afford it.  
  
Plus, taking the number of brothers she has into account, it is reasonable to see how Ginny grew up being somewhat of a tomboy. She always favored Quidditch to any other activity, finding that she was just as good as her brothers were. Not only was it boring to look through stores to find a dress that fit and didn't look ridiculous, as many brides maid dresses did, but she also had to find a pair of heels-- and wear both of them at the wedding, which was a considerable amount of time to be uncomfortable.  
  
"Ginny," Hermione said, drawing her attention back to the women beside her. "Come look at these. There is a fitting room in the back."  
  
Hermione led her into a room in the back of the store, where there were a couple racks on wheels at the side of the room with various colored dresses on it, three mirrors side by side, and stalls for people to change in. Ginny began looking through the dresses on the rack. 'No, this one looks like a tooth fairy costume,' she mused, looking at a puffy pink dress with sequins on it. The next several dresses were less bizarre, but still pretty bad.  
  
Hermione was looking through a different rack, and casually she turned to her friend holding up a yellow dress and said, "How about this one?"  
  
Ginny frowned and replied, "No, too Mary Sunshine for me."  
  
They both returned to their own racks. Hermione put the yellow dress back with a sigh and attempted at starting a conversation. "How is the love life of Miss Ginevra Weasley these days?"  
  
Ginny glanced at the brunette before responding with a solemn tone, "What love life?" and then finishing with a small laugh and a yawn.  
  
Hermione gave Ginny a disbelieving look with her eyebrow arched, and not getting anymore of a response from her friend despite the look she was directing towards her, so she tried a different approach. "Well, what about Malfoy?"  
  
Ginny's head shot up at the mention of his name and she grew silent. This was a sore subject with her, especially after finding out that her feelings for him were going unreciprocated. Then she replied with the best indifferent voice she could conjure up to say, "What about Malfoy?"  
  
Her friend kept looking through the dresses before her as she said, "You seemed like you were starting to become smitten with him not too long ago and in the Chinese restaurant you were hiding from him. What ever happened with that? I know you said that you two were never going to be together, but you certainly cannot say that nothing happened."  
  
Without thinking about what she was saying, words just slipped out of Ginny's mouth. It was not until after she spoke them that she wished she hadn't, because now she would have to explain to her friend what they meant. "Yesterday he made it quite clear to me that he did not return the sentiment."  
  
"What? You said that nothing happened yesterday!" her friend exclaimed, surprised at this comment. Seeing as Ginny usually told Hermione everything, her omitting such an important detail was a shock to her ears.  
  
"Correction, I said that it was nothing worth talking about," Ginny retorted, damning herself for mentioning it at all. Having to explain what happened would be like reliving it over again, and she already wished it hadn't happened to begin with.  
  
"Wrong again, this is definitely something worth talking about," Hermione replied curiously and still speaking in an amiable tenor. "But if you don't want to then I'll let it go, it's just that you usually talk to me about this sort of thing."  
  
"I'm sorry," Ginny said to her friend, turning away from the rack beside her. "It's just that I'm not ready to talk about it."  
  
Hermione nodded her head understandingly and gave her friend unconditional affection as best friends have for each other. "If you ever want to then I'm here for you, whenever."  
  
Feeling grateful to have a best friend like Hermione, Ginny gave her a smile and then proceeded to change the topic to one of more cheerful quality and happy countenance. "So, approximately how many people are going to be attending this wedding of yours?"  
  
Hermione smiled and answered her with a rough approximation, which also happened to be very close to the exact number that showed up. "Roughly eighty-five or so."  
  
"You settled on close family and relatives only then?" Ginny asked, knowing full well that her family alone held enough people to populate an entire country. She wasn't sure how many were in Hermione's family, but hers had to be smaller then the Weasleys'.  
  
"Yes, we can't afford anything bigger than that," Hermione answered swiftly, pulling a blue dress off the rack and holding it up to her friend. Shaking her head she put the dress back where it was and continued. "It is enough as it is that Ron has five best men."  
  
"Five?" Ginny asked, completely giving up on the search for a dress. She let Hermione look through them as she stood there inactively distracting herself with mild conversation pertaining to the wedding ahead.  
  
"Yes. First there is Harry, of course, and then Fred, George, Bill, and Charlie," Hermione named, counting each one off her fingers.  
  
"Every one except Percy," Ginny mused out loud, picturing the expression he would make when he is watching the wedding from the groom's side of the seating arrangements. "He still refuses to speak to dad."  
  
"Mrs. Weasley did convince Ron to invite him, but there was no discussion about him actually being involved in the wedding," the brunette replied, pulling out yet another dress from the rack. This time the color of it was a light green. She held it up to Ginny, and after being satisfied that it went well with her hair color, handed it to her to try on.  
  
Ginny took the dress after some hesitation and entered one of the nearby stalls. She quickly changed into the dress, only to find that it was too small in some parts and too large in others. Hermione requested that she see her in it, to judge for herself, and so Ginny exited the stall wearing it. They gave each other looks before they both broke out in laughter, agreeing with each other that the dress was definitely not the one for her.  
  
Before heading back into the stall Hermione handed her another dress, and Ginny heaved a sigh as she changed into it. This one actually fit her and when she showed her friend she received a smile. "It looks great. I think we finally found a winner."  
  
Ginny looked at herself in the mirror and agreed. This dress was not bad at all, and didn't make her look in any way embarrassing. The dress was a beautiful shade of lavender, and went well with Ginny's skin color and complexion. It had spaghetti straps, a small dip in the front, and it came to a stop around Ginny's knees.  
  
Deciding that this was the best match they were ever going to find, the two friends bought it right away and only had one task left for the day- finding a pair of shoes to go with it. Shoes were usually the easier assignment of the two, but sometimes depending on the dress it was hard to find a pair that would compliment it.  
  
They left the store in a hurry, and only had to walk across the street to make it to a shoe store. Now that she had the dress she had something to go by, and only had to look for a pair that went with the dress. Then again you have to take into account the comfort factor, although she was unlikely to ever find a pair of dress heels that were comfortable.  
  
There was some more conversation on the topic of the wedding, as Hermione freely gave Ginny information. Her other brothers were making their way there, and should all be there for the wedding rehearsal the following day. She was excited to them again. She wouldn't be surprised if Percy didn't show, for although he still speaks to their mother, his relationship with their father was abysmal. He still ignored his father's presence. Then again, he might just show up to get on everybody's nerves.  
  
Practically everything was already arranged. Hermione was a very detail-oriented person, and seeing as she decided to plan her own wedding, she didn't miss a thing. All of the witches and wizards attending were already informed of the situation, and were advised to not use any magic or even speak of such things. The Muggles coming, of course, had no clue about the other type of people who were coming. It was best that things remained that way.  
  
Ginny was relieved that she finally found apparel, all she had left to do was go through the motions.

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**A/N:** Thanks for reading and reviewing! I'm sick, got a cold and so I stayed home yesterday and came home early today, giving me time to update again as I sneeze and cough to death. I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up, probably tomorrow or Saturday, if not then by the latest Sunday.  
  
**Please review!!** (Make a sick girl happy, lol-thanks in advance) 


	26. Soot Covered Visitors

**Chapter 26**  
  
Soon it was Monday and time for the wedding rehearsal. Only the participating wedding party had to be there, and then afterwards everyone was headed back to Mr. and Mrs. Granger's house for dinner. Hermione was exuberant and found the need to wake Ginny up way before she was needed, way before.  
  
After about half an hour of Hermione's persistent attempts at waking Ginny up, she finally emerged from her bed to stomp off groggily towards the bathroom. Within the following half and hour Ginny was dressed and awake, much to her displeasure, and joined the living downstairs.  
  
As she descended the steps she heard people talking in the kitchen. "It's a shame they can't make it any sooner. I was looking forward to seeing them," spoke the voice of Hermione, with a trace of disappointment.  
  
"I haven't seen them in a long time," another voice said. It sounded remarkably like... Harry. When did he get there? "I have been meaning to visit their shop again, I just haven't gotten around to it."  
  
"Me too, but they will make it here eventually," came a reply from Ron.  
  
"When are the others, your other brothers that is, making it here?" a female voice asked curiously. When Ginny entered the room she discovered that it was Hermione's mother who asked that question. She smiled at Ginny affably when she saw her enter and said, "Good morning dear. Would you like something to eat for breakfast? I made some pancakes, bacon, waffles, and sausage."  
  
Ginny shook her head and replied, "No, thank you, but I would like some coffee, if it's not too much trouble."  
  
Mrs. Granger gestured for her to sit down and responded, "Not a problem at all, I actually just made a fresh pot. How would you like it? Cream? Sugar?"  
  
"No, I like my coffee black," she answered, taking a seat at the breakfast table across from Hermione and Ron. Harry was at the head of the table, picking at the food that was on his plate. Ron's plate was stacked with food, and he ate as if this was going to be the last meal he'd ever have. Ginny looked up and said, "Hi Harry, when did you get here?"  
  
"Not fifteen minutes ago," he answered between taking a bit of his pancakes and a drink of the orange juice he had to the left of his plate.  
  
From her seat Ginny could see into the next room, which contained her parents and Mr. Granger, whom were all reading from newspapers. Mr. Granger was holding a Muggle paper, Ginny couldn't make out the name but she saw that he was about halfway through it, and her parents were sharing a copy of the Daily Prophet.  
  
As Mrs. Granger poured a cup of coffee for Ginny, Ron answered her question. "They should be here shortly. Bill and Charlie are coming together; Fleur is with them as well. As for Percy, I'm not even sure if he is coming."  
  
Mrs. Granger nodded her head and walked back over to the table, handing Ginny a mug and taking a seat in the chair next to her. Ginny thanked her and then turned to look at her brother. "What about our mischievous brothers?"  
  
"Fred and George sent us an owl saying that they were going to be late in arriving, something about settling some business matters concerning Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes. They said they should be here before Wednesday though."  
  
"Oh," Ginny replied, taking a nice long sip on her steaming java. The taste of the coffee was better then she expected, and right as she was about to take her second she was interrupted by a loud noise from the next room.  
  
"Oww!" "Aahchoo!" and "My is it dirty in here!" were noises that she heard, followed by a loud thump. Curiously, all of them entered the living room to see what was making the disturbance. Ginny, holding onto her cup of coffee for dear life, led the way and was greeted by her slightly short and stocky brother's freckled face covered in soot.  
  
"Charlie!" she exclaimed as he gave her a bear hug and when he let go she saw that Bill and Fleur were behind him. Bill stood there with a smile, sporting the same fang earring and ponytail that their mother dislikes. Fleur was behind him, her silvery-blonde hair lying down on her shoulders. "Bill! Fleur... How are all of you?"  
  
Mr. Granger was looking at them from behind his paper, wondering what had just happened. It was not an everyday occurrence that people came out of his fireplace, and he was eyeing them all suspiciously. When he found out who they were he become cordial and shook hands with Bill and Fleur while Charlie was talking to his sister.  
  
"Good, good," Charlie replied, and the others nodded with him. "How's our little sister?"  
  
"Fine," she answered, happy to see her two brothers. She couldn't very well tell them what she had been up to the past month.  
  
"Just fine?" Ron questioned her as he joined them in the living room. "Gin, tell them about your promotion."  
  
"What promotion?" Bill asked, and the three newcomers turned their heads to face her.  
  
"You know how I work for Warts doing the book review column?" she asked, receiving nods of heads. "Well, I got promoted and now I can write about whatever I want to. I even have my own office now."  
  
"That's great Ginny!" Charlie responded. Harry came out and they shook hands. "How are you doing Harry?"  
  
"Great," he replied with a big smile. "It's good seeing you again."  
  
Mr. and Mrs. Weasley put down their newspapers and welcomed everyone there along with Mr. and Mrs. Granger. Mrs. Weasley gave her sons and Fleur hearty hugs. She began nagging Bill about his ponytail yet again, but he didn't seem to mind. Fleur and Hermione began talking, seeing as both of them were dating members of the Weasley clan.  
  
The actual wedding rehearsal was scheduled for that afternoon at the church. The priest was a short man, rather round about the middle, but with a friendly face. He had a benign countenance and was kind to the wedding party. He joked with them as they entered and people took their spots. The priest stood in the front, with Ron at his side. The parents were sitting in their respective seats, except for Mr. Granger of course, and Hermione's little cousin walked down the aisle; she was going to be the flower girl.  
  
Behind her came the bridesmaids, led by Ginny and Harry. She had thought it might be odd between them after everything that happened, but things seemed to be back to normal. They were now back to being friends, and it didn't feel awkward at all. The other bridesmaids were Fleur, a woman that Hermione works with named Tina, a Muggle girl named Kathryn who was supposedly related to Hermione, and another Muggle named Shelly that Hermione had been friends with since she was a little girl, she lived in the same neighborhood growing up.  
  
Fleur walked with Bill, Tina with Charlie, and then Kathryn and Shelly to walk by themselves because Fred and George weren't there. Everyone got in their spots at the front of the room, and then the bride and her father emerged. For a rehearsal, Hermione was taking it very seriously, thinking that if something goes wrong during it then something is going to go wrong at the actual wedding.  
  
It all went surprisingly smoothly, and Hermione and Ron were standing in the front together with the priest. Ginny tried not to yawn, but she was still tired because Hermione woke her up early and plus listening to the priest droning on and on was pure boring.  
  
Fleur leaned over to Ginny and whispered in her French accent, "This wedding is going to be wonderful. Knowing Hermione, she didn't miss a thing!"  
  
She nodded and replied, "Yeah, it was only a matter of time. Speaking of which, when are you and Bill going to tie the knot?"  
  
"Excuse me?" Fleur asked, not understanding what 'tying the knot' meant.  
  
"When are you and Bill going to get married?" Ginny clarified, receiving a smile and a shrug in response. Her attention was turned once again back to the couple standing in front of the priest. She tried to pay attention, but in about five minutes later there was a loud bang that stopped everyone from talking as they looked around to see where the noise came from.  
  
Following the bang was the sound of trumpets playing, getting louder and louder gradually, another bang exploded in the center of the room, and then sparkly confetti burst all over the room. One of the Muggles, Shelly to be precise, leaned over to Kathryn, who was standing next to her, and said, "Good special effects. I wonder how much it costs to have that done."  
  
A deep man's voice announced to the generally quiet room, "Introducing the ingenious dynamic duo Fred and George Weasley!"  
  
Then two forms appeared in the middle of the isle and began walking down it. Everyone turned to look and was greeted by the appearance of two red-haired and freckled twins with smirks on their faces. Despite their choice of appearance, they were wearing Muggle clothing. Both had on jeans, Fred wearing a green shirt and George wearing a blue one.  
  
Hermione nudged Ron and whispered to him, "I thought you told them there was no magic allowed."  
  
He shrugged, still looking at his brothers, and replied, "I did, but you know them, they always have to make a grand entrance."  
  
Ginny smiled when she saw her two brothers, not one bit surprised that they would arrive in such a way, and shouted to them. "It's about time you two made it here!"  
  
When Mrs. Weasley saw them she got up from her seat and pulled them aside. "Fred and George Weasley, I should have known you two were the cause of all this!" she said to them sternly, throwing her arms in the air while gesturing to the confetti that now covered most of the room, but only received a hug from each of them in reply.  
  
Mrs. Weasley's stern expression turned into a motherly smile as she looked at her twin boys and she went back to her seat beside her husband. The twins said hello to their brothers and family members present, were introduced to Hermione's relatives, and then walked over to the front of the room.  
  
"So," Fred began, looking at Hermione and Ron. "What did we miss?"

* * *

**A/N:** Thank for reading and reviewing. I am slowly recovering from my cold, thanks to amoxicillin. Good news for all fans, there are about two chapters left, maybe even an epilogue. I was glad to have Fred and George enter the story, there will be more of their antics in the next chapter. I know not much has happened, but be patient, things are building up to the wedding.  
  
So, be a good reader and **review**! Thanks! 


	27. Fuzzy Handcuffs

**Chapter 27  
**  
Hermione recovered from the incident at the wedding rehearsal, explaining that it was simply a prank that the twins planned. They figured it was as much, and didn't ask any questions. Fred and George seemed to be pleased with it though, and they asked Harry to rate their entrance on a scale of one to ten. Harry gave them an eight and a half.  
  
Afterwards everyone went back to Mr. and Mrs. Granger's house and Mrs. Granger made dinner. Mrs. Weasley offered to help and then later realized that she didn't know how to use some of the Muggle appliances. Despite that fact, the pair made a quite delicious dinner of chicken something or other and mashed potatoes. The dessert was apple pie, which Mrs. Granger admitted to not making herself, and said that it was a brand called Sarah Tee.  
  
Later Ginny's four brothers, along with Fleur, went to stay at Bill's place for the night. Hermione's other friends and relatives went to stay at their homes, and some were staying at nearby hotels. Everyone else was sleeping in the Granger household.  
  
The next day, which was of course Tuesday, Ginny got a chance to sleep in till ten. When she woke up she couldn't believe how fast the week was flying by, soon her brother and his wife would be off to their honeymoon and Ginny would have to return to her work. She was glad to have this little break though, and it was nice being back with her family again.  
  
The bridal shower was at noon, and they were having it at Kathryn's house. This was the first time that Ginny had ever been to a bridal shower and she wondered what they were going to do there. Shelly said something to her about cucumber sandwiches without the crust, but Ginny hoped not because that did not sound too tasty. Muggles sure had a strange taste in food.  
  
Normally, Ginny would be the one throwing the shower because she was the maid of honor, but Hermione wanted to plan her own and Kathryn offered to host it at her house. Ginny didn't mind because if she were throwing it then she wouldn't know what activities to plan for them to do.  
  
Also attending was the rest of the bridesmaids, and some more of Hermione's female relatives. There was going to be about twenty people there altogether, and Ginny was sure that Hermione came up with some sort of game or activity for them to play. All of the guests were between the ages of eighteen and thirty, no children were invited and neither was Hermione's mother or grandmother.  
  
Hermione and Ginny set off, leaving Harry, Ron, and their parents behind. Ginny held in her hands the presents she chose for her best friend. One was a joke, a copy of Hogwarts: A History, and the other was something that she picked up at some strange shop she stumbled upon one day. It was a snow globe, and inside it was a bride and groom together smiling. She charmed it so that the bride looked like Hermione and the groom looked like Ron. When you shook it glitter would swirl around, and over all it was a very pretty item that she was sure Hermione would like.  
  
Plus, the saleswoman said that when you give it to either the bride or the groom it ensures them luck with their marriage and gives them one wish. She also went on to say that it was proven that about ninety percent of all marriages in which couples receive this as a present they stay happily married. When asked about the other ten percent she simply replied that some people were not meant to be married. Ginny accepted this answer and bought the globe, knowing that if any two people were meant to be married then it would be Ron and Hermione.  
  
Engraved on the bottom of the snow globe was something that Ginny paid extra for. It said Ron and Hermione, with the date of their wedding next to their names, and beneath it was a quote that Ginny thought was appropriate, "Amor Vincit Omnia". That quote, of course, translates to love conquers all. Then directly underneath that quote was a message that read: "Wishing you all the love and happiness in the world- Ginny".  
  
When they made it to Kathryn's house they were the third ones there, and they saw that there were a few decorations out. A banner swept across the wall in the parlor room, where the shower was to be held, and it read: "Congratulations to the bride". There were black and white balloons that had pictures of bells on them, and as people arrived they received a white corsage.  
  
When everyone was there and seated Kathryn said that she had to announce something. "I bet you are all wondering what the corsages are for. For the rest of the shower no one is allowed to say the word 'wedding'. If you catch someone using this word then you get to take their corsage and pin it on yourself. Whoever has the most corsages at the end wins a prize."  
  
There was a table of treats at the side of the room. While people were talking Ginny wandered over there to see what they had, and surprise, surprise there in the middle was the cucumber sandwiches. Ginny grimaced, and then looked around at the other snacks. There were brownies, cheese and crackers, cookies, turkey wraps, and a pitcher of lemonade. Picking up a brownie, Ginny returned to her seat next to Fleur and turned her attention back to the other bridesmaids.  
  
Another table held the presents, on which Ginny placed hers that was wrapped in silver wrapping paper and a light purple bow. She supposed that the gift opening was to occur later, after the girls have indulged themselves in treats and little games.  
  
"I have an idea," Shelly said to the women jovially as she began handing out pieces of paper. "We did this at my sister's wedding shower."  
  
Some girl that Ginny didn't know interrupted her. The woman had short brown hair in a bob-like cut and a square shaped face. She looked like she was about twenty-three and she was obviously wearing a layer of make-up over her skin. "You said the word," she commented, taking Shelly's corsage and pinning it to herself.  
  
"Oops," Shelly laughed, and then continued with her instructions. "Anyway, as I was saying, everyone take a piece of paper and at the top write Ron - Hermione. In the next five minutes write down as many words as you can think of, using only the letters from the names."  
  
Ginny took a piece of paper and a pen, and then sat there occasionally taking bites of the brownie. Looking at the blank piece of paper she began to make words. 'Hmm... rhino, moo, noon, he, her, rim, hire, horn, me, hem, him, non, none, no, rein, ho, here...' She was sure that there were more combinations, but those were all she could think of at the time.  
  
When the five minutes were over everyone tallied the number of words they came up with, and ironically it was Hermione who won. Ginny should have known as much, Hermione was the smartest and brightest person that she knew. As a prize Hermione received a rose scented candle and then they began with some other game ideas.  
  
Meanwhile they were passing around a book for people to write advice in, and a disposable camera for people to take pictures with. Luckily Ginny remembered how to use one from before when her father obtained one. She smiled as Kathryn took a picture of her and Fleur, and then she began to write down some advice in the book. She gave her some hints and tips about Ron, since she had lived most of her life with her older brother, and she also wished them her best before passing the book over to Fleur.  
  
Eventually it was time for Hermione to unwrap her gifts. Two people were put in charge of note taking, one to record the gifts and whom they were from and another to record exactly what Hermione comments about them when she opens it. Ginny agreed to be one of the note takers along with Tina. They were both handed a sheet of paper and a pen. Ginny had an idea of what a record of her comments was going to be used for, but she didn't say anything.  
  
Hermione settled in her seat on the couch and was handed her first present to open. It was a medium sized box wrapped in shocking pink paper with a big green bow on the top of it. She read the tag, seeing that it was from someone named Randi, who was yet another relative of Hermione's. She had the same bushy hair, except for hers was black, and she seemed like a nice girl. She smiled as Hermione opened it, and then she pulled out a pair of pink fuzzy handcuffs.  
  
Everyone started laughing at this choice in gag gift, and Hermione's face turned to a light shade of red. She held up the handcuffs with one hand and joked, "And what do you expect me to use these for?" Ginny wrote down her comment as she laughed along with the other women present.  
  
Between laughs her relative replied, "Your honeymoon, of course!"  
  
Hermione opened a few more gifts before she got to Ginny's, and when she opened hers she laughed about the book, and then commented on how much she loved the snow globe. Everyone took turns looking at it, questioning her on where she found such a wonderful gift. Of course she couldn't tell them about the wizard shop, but she simply answered with, "One of those little gift shops in London. I don't remember what it is called, but they sold some charming items there."  
  
At the end Ginny read over every comment Hermione made about the gifts, and then did her duty of pointing out how these minor comments could be a 'prophesy', if you will, of Hermione's wedding night. When Ginny said 'wedding', it was the same lady who had caught Shelly on saying it who noticed, and she added Ginny's corsage to her ever-growing collection of about nine. Needless to say, she won the prize for that game.  
  
It was not much longer until the bridal shower was over, everyone said their good-byes and went their separate ways. Hermione and Ginny returned to the Granger's house together, each carrying part of the presents that Hermione had collected. When they got there Harry and Ron, who helped them with getting the rest of the presents and then the four of them sat down in the living room, greeted them.  
  
"So, how was the bridal shower?" Ron asked them.  
  
"Fun," Ginny answered and then she commented in jest. "Wait till you see what Randi got Hermione for your honeymoon."  
  
Hermione laughed and then said, "Yes, but Ginny gave me no doubt the best gift of all. I'll show it to you later Ron, it's an exquisite snow globe with a little bride and groom inside that look like us and then there is an engraving too. You'll love it."  
  
"That's not the best part," Ginny joked. "The male strippers were wonderful. I'll be sure to hire them for my bridal shower."  
  
Ron's face dropped and she could see that he didn't realize she was joking. He sternly replied to her, "You will do no such thing," Then he turned to his fiancé. "You didn't tell me you were going to have strippers..."  
  
Harry stifled a laugh as he watched his friend and Ginny gave him a wink, signifying that she was only kidding. He gave her a nod in reply and they both watched as Ron's serious expression changed when Hermione said to him, "It was only a joke, there were no strippers."  
  
"Oh," he responded, feeling stupid for believing Ginny's joke.  
  
"Don't worry Ron," Ginny said assuring her brother who was sitting next to her. "The closest thing we got to stripping was a pair of fuzzy handcuffs."  
  
Both Ron and Harry gave her looks, and in reply her and Hermione began laughing again.

* * *

**A/N:** Someone commented that my chapters were getting shorter, but all I have to say is that each chapter is exactly three pages long in size 10 font in my word document, so they are all roughly about the same length. I know the story seems like it is being drawn out, but I just have to have the whole nine yards of Hermione's wedding plans (i.e. the rehearsal, the bridal shower, etc) and besides I like you keep you all waiting for the next arrival of our beloved Draco Malfoy (I'm just evil like that). I keep saying that there are only two chapters left, but I lied there are still two more chapters ahead, plus an epilogue if you all would like one (you should tell me in your review which I know you will be writing after you finish this rather long author's note).

(continued...) More good news for my readers, I have decided to write a sequel to this. I have a plotline decided on already and I chose a title. There will be more characters included that were not in this story, along with the reappearance of characters from this one. The sequel focuses more on Draco and Ginny and less on her job. I'll put the summary for it on the last chapter of this story, but till then I just wanted to let you all know because some of you commented on how this was ending so soon.  
  
So know that I'm done with my little note (hehe, sarcasm) to all of you lovely people, **REVIEW**! Gracias!


	28. Brotherly Love

**Chapter 28**  
  
Finally came Wednesday, giving everyone a break from their wedding related activities. There was still no word from Percy; everyone was beginning to think that he wasn't going to show up, not that they wanted him to. He had a talent for putting a damper on people's spirits, except for Fred and George who were always in high spirits.  
  
Ginny was in a bad mood after waking up from another dream that included the former 'twitchy little ferret', as Hermione had once called everyone's favorite Malfoy. She did not want to think about him, it hurt too much. She felt so fooled. For a split second she thought he actually could act human, but she was wrong and only ended up embarrassing herself.  
  
Hoping that her family would be able to distract her from this mess, she joined them early on in the living room. Everyone was talking animatedly about this, that, and the other thing, and Ginny made remarks here and there. Fred and George were sitting near her, and she began discussing with them their business. She was proud of her brothers, and over all the Weasley family had been lucky when it came to everyone's careers.  
  
"You wouldn't believe how many people are throwing themselves at us, willing to test our new products," George said to her.  
  
Then Fred added with a wink. "Especially the students of Hogwarts, who happen to be our biggest customers."  
  
"Well," Ginny confidently replied to the twins, without one ounce of surprise. "You two are a legend there."  
  
"And I hear that Filch finds himself quite busy these days," George continued. "Always finding more things to confiscate."  
  
"Yes that he would," Ginny stated. She detested Filch because he can caused her hell in her last year at school. "He still holds quite a grudge against you two. In my sixth year he gave me two weeks of detention because he ate one of the Canary Creams that you sent me."  
  
"I remember that," Ron said, joining in the conversation. "Mum sent you an Howler when she found out about it."  
  
Meanwhile Mr. Weasley was chatting away with Hermione's father. He was simply fascinated with the objects in the Granger household. "So what exactly do you use that for?" he asked, pointing to what the Muggles call a remote.  
  
Mr. Granger looked at him like he was crazy, but kindly replied, "To change the channel on the television. It's handy for when you don't want to get up and manually do it."  
  
"Clever," Arthur responded, marveling at how Muggles can get along without using magic. They sure were resourceful.  
  
It is at times like these that a disturbance is sometimes inevitable, and almost always distracting. At the sound of a thud coming from the fireplace everyone turned their heads to see who the new arrival was. Knowing how big the Weasley family was it could have been anyone. For a second the room became silent and people forgot what they were talking about.  
  
A person emerged from the fireplace, and muttered a spell to clean themselve off. Looking up to see that everyone was looking at him, he stated in a self-important manner, "Sorry I am late, I got caught up with some work at the Ministry."  
  
"Oh great," Fred commented to George. "Pinhead is here."  
  
They had coined that nickname, which only added to the number of ones Percy had, from when they put a charm on his prefect badge to say Pinhead. It was fun to give Percy these nicknames because of how irritated he would get. He, of course, did not hear Fred's little comment and entered the room, walking straight past his father without a word and receiving a hug from his mother.  
  
That night the large group went to a restaurant that Mrs. Granger picked out and made reservations for. It specialized in Italian food, and Hermione commented on how this was the same restaurant where her father proposed to her mother. It was a large and fancy establishment, which allowed people to reserve rooms for events such as this one. The group, being as large as it was, had to set at three tables that were lined up to form one large one and received their own room. They sat clockwise in this order: Mrs. Granger, Hermione, Ron, Mrs. Weasley, Mr. Weasley, Mr. Granger, Harry, Ginny, Fred, George, Fleur, Bill, Charlie, and Percy.  
  
Charlie captivated everyone with his story about a recent dragon he worked with, and then Percy began talking about how he loved working for Fudge. Everyone kept their comments to themselves as the Weasley family was still trying to make amends with him. He still seemed upset about his parents past suggestion of Fudge wanting a spy in their family, but for some reason forgave his mother. He did not speak to his father or Harry and gave up trying to get Ron to stop hanging around Harry.  
  
Harry and Ginny had their own little conversations pertaining to Quidditch and old memories. Somehow Malfoy was brought up and Ginny quickly changed the topic so that she wouldn't have to think about him. Harry didn't seem to mind; there was no point for him to talk about his former enemy who he hadn't seen since his days at Hogwarts.  
  
Hermione and her mother were talking about the news Mrs. Granger heard relating to some of Hermione's relatives. One of her cousins couldn't make the wedding because he was stuck in the Americas for the time being. Apparently where he was there was a Hurricane and all the flights leaving that town were canceled.  
  
Mrs. Weasley was telling Ron about her confrontation with the ghoul that lives in their attic at the Burrow, and how when she went up there to get something it threw a book at her head. She narrowly missed it, and after the book hit the wall behind her it landed on its spine and opened to a random page. The book seemed to be a text that had long been forgotten, entitled Death Omens: What To Do When You Know The Worst Is Coming, which reminded her of their relative Bilius.  
  
Mr. Weasley was still discussing Muggle objects with Mr. Granger, who didn't seem to mind. Thinking back to the old Ford Anglia that went missing several years ago, he asked his soon to be in-law what brand of car he drove. After Mr. Granger answered he responded with, "Really. I used to have a Ford Anglia myself."  
  
Fred and George were talking to Fleur and Bill about some of their products that were still being tested. That included Laughter Lozenges, which when taken caused the person to laugh uncontrollably. The problem with them was that they kept laughing until they took the cure for it, which was a nasty tasting serum. Also they told them about their Gravity Gum that caused the chewer to float, but the effects wore off in two minutes or less.  
  
After everyone was satisfied with their dinner, they returned to the Granger house to have coffee and tea. It seemed as though everyone could go on talking forever, and that was what they did continue doing for the following three hours. They filled up the kitchen and the living room. Fred and George left the kitchen, and went in search of their brother Percy, who was standing in the corner of the living room. They joined him and began talking, while everyone else was off in their own conversations.  
  
"We wanted to make peace with you," Fred said to Percy, who was standing between the twins.  
  
George continued with, "You are our brother after all."  
  
"And so," Fred concluded, taking something out of his bag. "We brought you this. It's a pastry from Honeydukes."  
  
"We stopped there on the way, seeing as our shop is near there," George explained. "We also have some things for mum and dad, but we thought that you would like this."  
  
Percy gave them both distrustful looks, and even shot the pastry a doubtful glance, but after much insistence he took the pasty and thanked them. He seemed unsure of whether to trust his own brothers or not. After a couple minutes he finally took a bite. He must have liked the taste, because soon the whole thing was gone.  
  
"What did you think?" Fred asked him as he swallowed his last bite.  
  
Percy swallowed and then replied with his same stern expression, "It was acceptable."  
  
George gave him a small slap on the back and responded, "We knew you would like it."  
  
The twins winked at each other and then looked back at their brother. Percy's face became flushed, and he began making strange noises. "Moooooooooo! Mooooooooo!"  
  
"Something wrong Perce?" asked Fred inconspicuously.  
  
Everyone's attention was turned to Percy, who was slowly transforming into a cow. In a matter of minutes a black and white cow was mooing continuously in the spot where Percy once stood. Mrs. Weasley walked over, obviously angered, and scolded them. "What did you two do this time?"  
  
"Nothing mum," George answered his mother in a loving and innocent voice. "We just gave him a pastry."  
  
She sighed, apparently tired of scolding them for their constant pranks. She never agreed with their dream of opening a joke shop, and there was not much she could do now that Percy ate the pastry. "Not another one of those silly products of yours."  
  
"Don't worry," Fred told her comfortingly. "It should wear off in a couple minutes."  
  
He was right, for in about one or two minutes Percy was back to himself, the cow's tail was still there though for a couple more minutes, and this time he was fuming. His face was red, and he turned to his brothers with distaste. "You tricked me!"  
  
They laughed, and then replied amiably, "It was only some brotherly love."  
  
Percy snorted and Ginny, Harry, and even Ron were fighting back laughs. Everyone knew that Fred and George's pranks were lighthearted and not meant to be taken seriously. Percy appeared to be holding a grudge, but how long could he stay mad at his two brothers for? The twins were confident that he would get over it eventually.  
  
Everybody went to bed early, at the request of Hermione, so that they would be fully rested for the wedding that was finally arriving. The past few days had flown by and Ginny couldn't believe that she was hours away from getting a sister. It was funny when you thought about it that the once awkward Ron would be the first one of her brothers to be married, she had always thought that Bill or Charlie would have beaten him to it. With this last thought she fell into a deep slumber.

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**A/N:** Thanks to my reviewers! You are too kind. The whole last scene didn't really have any importance, but I had to do it. Hehehe, I'm evil like that. Anyway, I'll update as soon I get some reviews for this chapter. The next chapter (the moment you have all been waiting for) will probably be up tomorrow, seeing as I already have some of it written.  
  
**Please review!**  
  
I feel like reviewing my reviewers, so here goes:  
  
**ShadowVixen90-** Thank you. :-) I think I am going to write the sequel because I see so much more for our couple, you know? Anyway, thanks for the review, I'm glad you like the story so far.  
  
**Draco & Ginny Forever-** Thanks for all of your reviews. In chapter 16 it says that he stops reading around number twelve, so no he didn't read any of the good things she wrote about him.  
  
**Catmint-** Thanks, I wanted Ginny to give Hermione something thoughtful and I just pictured the snow globe in my mind.  
  
**hannah-** Thanks, I'm glad you like it.  
  
**numbluver-** Thanks for the review. I'm not sure about the epilogue, but there will most likely be a sequel.  
  
And to all who are about to review or reviewed after I updated, **THANKS**! 


	29. Wedding Bells

**Chapter 29**  
  
Ginny was not allowed to sleep past eight, and so she was wakened by her friend to start getting ready. The actual wedding wasn't until one, but Hermione wanted all her bridesmaids dressed and ready by ten thirty and they were leaving for the church at noon. She suggested that they grab something to get for breakfast so they wouldn't be hungry during the event, and so Ginny had a bagel before she went back upstairs to a room full of chaos.  
  
The bridesmaids were all busy doing some sort of task. Kathryn was curling Shelly's hair while Shelly was putting on make-up, Tina was done (no doubt thanks to magic) and helping Hermione get dressed, and Fleur was combing her straight blonde hair. It seemed like Ginny was the only one who hadn't begun getting ready.  
  
She slipped on her new dress and the heels she picked out to go with it. Then Ginny took a seat, feeling content without having her hair done or any make-up applied, but the other girls pounced on her. Kathryn, who had finished with Shelly's hair, said to her, "Ginny, you aren't going like that, are you? I'll do your hair for you if you want."  
  
With everyone's determination, she finally agreed to let Kathryn do her hair, and she sat quietly as she proceeded. She became so bored that at times she actually dozed off for a bit, until someone began nudging her and she would pretend like she was awake the whole time. Finally her hair was done, and it curled down to her shoulders. She allowed Shelly put a bit of eye shadow on her, but that was the limit. She refused to end up looking like a china doll.  
  
Ginny gasped when she saw Hermione. The brunette's hair was up in a bun with a veil flowing down over it. She wore a gorgeous white wedding dress. It was strapless, and flowed down to the ground and outwards. About the torso was a design made of little white pearls, and she wore matching gloves. Around her neck was a silver necklace that held a small cluster of diamonds, which went with her engagement right.  
  
"Hermione," Ginny said to her best friend with a smile. "You look positively stunning."  
  
When all the girls were ready, which took longer than Ginny thought it would, they were escorted to the church that Hermione's dad rented for her. Time flew by extremely fast, and soon Ginny was in line to walk out. Music began playing and Hermione's little cousin, in a cute little pink and white dress, walked out tossing white and pale pink rose petals down the isle.  
  
Next Ginny and Harry walked out, her arm around his, and she looked ahead to see her brother standing, tapping his fingers nervously. When they got to the front they parted, and Harry went to stand next to Ron. Ginny prayed for her brother, hoping that he didn't pass out before Hermione made it down the isle. Behind them came Fleur with Bill, for the occasion his hair was down instead of in a ponytail and he took out his fang earring. Then came Tina and Charlie, Kathryn and Fred, and finally Shelly and George. Everyone got to their places, and all the guests turned their heads anxiously awaiting the bride.  
  
The music changed, turning into the tradition piano song 'Here Comes The Bride'. From the door came Hermione, looking beautiful all dressed up and receiving small murmurs of approval from her guests who looked on her with awe. Her father escorted her, and Ginny thought to herself that she had never seen Hermione happier.  
  
When they got to the front Mr. Granger offered Hermione's arm over to Ron, who immediately took it and mumbled some words of thanks before the couple turned to face their priest. He began the traditional ceremony and everybody watched quietly. "Dearly beloved we are gathered here today to witness the union of Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley..." He continued, and Ginny wondered how long it would take till they got to the I do's.  
  
"...If there are any reasons why these two should not be joined in holy matrimony, then speak now or forever hold your peace," the short priest stated in his monotone voice and Ron and Hermione looked at each other with warm smiles, knowing that no one had any objections.  
  
Right at that moment a loud noise was heard outside of the church and soon the door slammed open, revealing a man. He mumbled to himself, "Bloody Muggles!" Everyone turned to look at him, including the bride and her maid of honor. Ginny watched in shock as she saw Draco Malfoy emerge from the door. He looked a bit disheveled, wearing a black suit with a tie that he apparently did not have enough time to tie, and his blonde hair falling in his face.  
  
He walked in, turning to one of the ladies in the back isle, who was wearing a light pink dress with a matching hat and purse, and asking her, "Do you know where Ginny Weasley is?"  
  
The lady nodded and pointed to the front of the room. Draco's eyes followed where her finger led and he saw Ginny standing beside the bride wearing a lavender dress with her long red hair coming down in curls over it, making her look like some kind of angel, especially with the way light coming in from the stained glass windows appeared as if to be coming from her. Weasley and Granger, whose wedding this was, hadn't changed much by the looks of them, except for it seemed that for this special occasion Granger's hair decided to let itself be tamed.  
  
He cringed at picturing a million kids with red bushy hair running around, and then shook his head to rid himself of that thought. There was no way in hell that he was going to have that many kids, as Weasley's tend to do, if he has any children at all. They seemed to be more of a hassle then they were worth, but maybe he would have just one, it would have to be a son of course so he could keep the family name.  
  
He made his way down the isle, causing many of the guests whisper to each other, everyone wondering who he was and what he was doing there. The priest was one of them and he asked him, "Do you have an objection?"  
  
Draco, who could careless that he was interrupting a wedding, replied, "Yes, I do."  
  
Everyone gasped; surprised that anyone would have an objection to this lovely couple's marriage. Ginny's eyes widened and Hermione and Ron exchanged bewildered glances. Ginny, thoroughly embarrassed, whispered to Draco in the lowest voice she could muster, hoping that the guests would not hear her. "Draco! What are you doing here? Go sit down!"  
  
He ignored her pleas and stood in the middle of the isle, his attention still on the priest although he had heard what Ginny said. He seemed intent on causing a scene, and was quite successful in it. Everyone's eyes were on him, and Ginny could only look at him helplessly horrified.  
  
When Draco didn't continue the priest, still looking at him, said, "Well young man, let your voice be heard. What is your objection?"  
  
"I lied," Everyone was staring intently at Draco to see what he was going to say, most of the guests thinking that it was about the wedding and became even more confused when he began talking about something only Ginny would understand. Draco turned his gaze from the priest and finally laid his eyes upon Ginny again, seeing that she was extremely embarrassed. "I lied to you Ginny, I didn't mean what I said."  
  
The guests gasped again, utterly perplexed. What was his objection? It obviously did not pertain to the marriage of Ron and Hermione. This mystery man was talking to the maid of honor, what was going on? Hardly anyone recognized Draco Malfoy, especially Hermione's relatives and many members of the Weasley clan. Whoever knew who Draco was though, knew that this was him because of Ginny's response to his objection. Certainly no one in the room was expecting an outburst such as this, and so everyone was on the edge of their seats waiting for an explanation.  
  
Not everyone was completely in the dark on this matter, Hermione glowing at Ginny because she knew her friend more then anyone and she was quick to understand what was happening. Draco Malfoy wasn't the best choice, but if Ginny liked him then she wished them her best. She had, of course, known Ginny's feelings on this matter. Normally Hermione would have been extremely angry at an interruption during her wedding, but she wanted to see what Malfoy was going to say to Ginny. It was like a soap opera moment, or a scene from a chick flick.  
  
Her husband-to-be, on the other hand, was fuming. Ron's face was slowly turning red, soon to match the color of his hair, and the expression on his face clearly showed that he was in no way approving of the interruption of someone who he had learned was Draco Malfoy after hearing Ginny whisper to him. Ron could not believe what he was witnessing firsthand, his enemy at his wedding, there to talk to his little sister! It was all too unbelievable. He simply must be dreaming! Why did Harry have to break up with Ginny? Now there was a match that he could allow, but this... what was this exactly?  
  
Ginny, ignoring her angry brother and supportive friend, was staring at Draco with a befuddled expression. There were so many unanswered questions on her mind. Was he about to apologize? After that whole episode on the train? Was that the same Draco that blatantly spat at her with a mix of annoyance and indifference?  
  
"You aren't worthless or good-for-nothing or even intolerable," Draco began, gaining evil glares from all of Ginny's brothers. With some difficultly he continued, now speaking directly to the object of his affection. "See the thing is... I- I fancy you."  
  
He finally said it. He wished that he used a different choice of words, 'fancy' was not a word that Malfoys had in their vocabulary, but it sort of just came out. These words had gone long unsaid, and he felt a burden lift off his shoulders now that he let her know he returned her feelings. Now he had to wait for her response, hoping that she still felt the same way.  
  
"What the bloody hell is going on here?!?" Ron exclaimed, looking back and forth from Ginny to Malfoy.  
  
Hermione leaned over to her fiancé and said, "Ron be quiet, they are having a moment."  
  
"What? You knew about this and didn't warn me?" he asked her, becoming very angry and confused. No one was answering him, and the fact that his own girlfriend didn't tell him that something was going on between the ferret and his youngest further incensed him. When she didn't answer him he turned to look at Harry, who shrugged, and his other brothers who also looked at if they were going into overprotective older brother mode.  
  
Ginny, who liked Draco was ignoring everyone else in the room, was speechless. He did care about her! And all this time she thought that he didn't... She didn't know what to say or do at such a confession. He must fancy her, for somehow he found out this wedding and caused a scene just to talk to her. That had to mean something.  
  
Draco noticed the shocked expression on Ginny's face, and walked up to her. His lips found their way to hers and time seemed to stand still. His mind was focused on just the two of them, like no one else existed, and he felt her sink into the kiss. Her lips parted, giving way for his tongue, and he was reminded of their first kiss, which had been perfect. He loved her taste and hoped that there were many kisses like this in his future.  
  
Ginny, caught by surprise when felt his lips on hers, became caught up in the moment. Now she could kiss him without feeling guilty, so she kissed him back. After they indulged themselves, they eventually parted and became aware of the many pairs on eyes on them.  
  
_To be continued..._

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**A/N:** Thanks for reading and reviewing. Finally, the moment you have all been waiting for, they kissed (again)! This is not the last chapter, as you can tell, it will be continued after you-  
  
**REVIEW!** (bwa-ha-ha-ha!!! and I'll get the next part out as soon as possible, which is probably tomorrow after school)  
  
**numbluver-** lol, that works  
  
**honey-gurl808-** Thanks, glad you like it.  
  
**MoonlightPrincess-** Thanks, I personally love Fred and George and I simply had to make them do something. Yeah, lol, you've got that right.  
  
**ShadowVixen90-** :-) No problem. I stopped doing it for a while because I didn't have time to reply to each individual reviewer, but I like you all to know that I really appreciate the reviews (especially the ones with compliments, lol). By the way, lovely 'catch phrase'.  
  
**Draco & Ginny Forever-** I don't mind, I know what you mean, at least you took time to write something. And seeing as you already know the answer to your question, there is not much more for me to say except thanks.  
  
**LilliannaRose-** lol, Thanks for reviewing.  
  
**valentines-hater-** Soon enough? lol... Interesting name, reminds me of eight grade when my friend made these stickers for us to wear that said "Anti-Valentine's Day Crew". Anyway, hope you found this chapter satisfactory.  
  
**nervylittlespy-** Yay, glad you like it.  
  
**something-special0503-** lol! That would be interesting, but it wouldn't make much sense, would it?  
  
**Catmint-** Thanks, they are so fun to write about. Anyway, now you know that you were right you get to pat yourself on the back (after reviewing of course).  
  
**Everyone-** Thanks for reviewing! 


	30. The Meaning of Love

**Chapter 30**  
  
The kiss had sent an exultant feeling throughout Ginny's body. Her face was glowing and she felt safe and warm. She had an overwhelming feeling that she could do anything, concur the world even, if she wanted to. As her face stretched into a wide smile she heard her guardian angel's words repeat in her ear, "Follow your heart". Just for this once she would use someone else's advice. This was what was going on in Ginny's mind, that is until her brother questioned her.  
  
"Would you mind telling me, Ginevra Weasley, what exactly is going on here?" Ron asked her, sounding strikingly like their mother. Her other brothers were standing behind him, ready to back him up, and she suddenly realized that there was no easy way out of this situation for her. She was trapped, cornered by five of her brothers. Percy seemed to be watching with interest from his seat, but wasn't going to intervene.  
  
"Yes, _please_ enlighten us," Fred said, placing an emphasis on the word please.  
  
As she snapped out of her joyful pondering, she was faced with yet another problem- How was her family going to take the news? She imagined that her parents would be able to deal with it, but what about her brothers? They were already protective enough with any guy that she chose to date, even Harry, so what were they going to say about someone who came from a revolting family? It was Ron that she was especially worried about because he had hated Malfoy with a passion for years.  
  
Well, if Malfoy could accept her for who she was and what family she came from, then Ron should be able to deal with the fact that Ginny wanted to be with Draco. Yes, it will be hard for him to handle at first, but he will get used to it.. he'll have to.  
  
Out of her friends, the only ones who had opinions that truly mattered to her were Hermione and Harry. She had been close to them for several years, and she tended to lean to Hermione for advice with anything and everything. Judging from the way her best friend was reacting to the situation, Ginny figured that she was happy for her. She did tell her once that she would be her friend no matter who it was she was with, and this was comforting.  
  
To the side of Ginny's hoard of brothers stood Harry. He looked confused, and she could very well understand why. The poor bloke had no idea what was going on behind the scenes, if you will, with this redhead. At the time she never thought the situation would escalade to this extreme, so it made sense not to tell him, but now she would have to give at least a miniscule explanation. That was the least she could do for her ex. She would have to talk to him later.  
  
Her head turned to look at Ron once again as she began to wonder how to answer his question. She wanted to calm him down, but she knew that being honest would only incense him more. So would be sarcastic or coy, and so he really didn't leave her many options. No, not many at all.  
  
"Uh..." she began, not sure what to say to her brother and trying not to anger him further. "Well... you see... this past month I have, erm, ran into Draco a couple times... and..." She looked from Ron to Draco, searching for an answer.  
  
Draco walked up beside her and took the spotlight off of her with a calm and casual response to Ron's question. "Weasel-y," he corrected a little too late, remembering that Weasel was Ginny's brother and he had to at least pretend to be nice to him. That meant no name-calling. "As you saw I just admitted my feelings for your sister. What happens now is up to her."  
  
Ginny, at hearing what Draco just said, looked up at him with a small smile. This seemed too good to be true, except for the whole angry brother part. Actually, correction, angry brothers. Draco was once again surprising her. This just goes to prove, you think you know someone, but you really have no idea. Plus the fact that it was 'up to her'. Draco had never left anything up to her before, what was this sudden change of attitude? She didn't care for the answer; she liked him better this way.  
  
Unfortunately her brother did not have the same opinion on this blonde. "But why- how- when?" he stuttered. None of this was making any sense. Were they all mad? This couldn't be happening. No, it was all just a bad dream... a very bad dream. That's it; all he had to do was wake himself up. Damn it! It wasn't working, could this be actually happening?  
  
"Ron, calm down," Hermione said soothingly to him. "Your sister likes Malfoy here, and I think that you should at least give him a chance."  
  
His head that had been looking down shot up, he looked at his fiancé and replied, "But 'Mione, this is the same wanker that called you mudblood for years!" And he thought that Hermione was supposed to be the rational one.  
  
Her brown eyes darted from Ron to Malfoy and back to Ron again. He certainly wasn't acting like the Malfoy she knew. "Are you sure?" she asked thoughtfully, and then added, "Either way, I trust Ginny's judgment and you should do the same."  
  
"Fine," Ron groaned, giving up. There was not much he could do anyway, except use his given brotherly right of threatening Malfoy. Turning from Hermione he went up to Malfoy, slightly steaming, and at about ten inches from the blonde's face said under his breath, "If you hurt even one hair on my sister's head or break her heart then I promise you that I will personally see to it that you are castrated- with a spoon."  
  
Bill laughed and then commented, "I think this would be a good time to mention that Ron never breaks his promises- and he isn't very forgiving."  
  
"And we will be watching you," George warned.  
  
Then Fred added, "So don't fuck up."  
  
"You be good to our little sister," Charlie said to Draco demandingly. "She is the only one we have."  
  
Draco stood there nodding his head, thinking about how much Ginny's brothers must really love her. He doubted Ron's castrating abilities, but that still certainly sounded painful. It was more the fact that there were five against one that got him, but that didn't matter because he wasn't planning on breaking Ginny's heart.  
  
Ginny was glad that was finally over and out of the way. She hugged all of her brothers happily, and thanked Hermione for talking some sense into Ron. Her family was important to her and she wanted them to be happy for her. Now that situation was settled, the priest cleared his throat to remind everyone that this was still a wedding.  
  
"Ahem," he said, looking particularly at Ginny.  
  
"Sorry," she apologized, still a bit embarrassed that all of those people had to witness that. Actually, she was more than a bit embarrassed, but her happiness outweighed that. She felt like she had just conquered an army, and metaphorically speaking she had. Quickly everyone went back to their spots, and Ginny gave Draco a quick kiss, saying sweetly. "Go sit down, I'll see you after the wedding."  
  
He nodded, wondering how long these weddings actually took, and walked to take a seat. He ended up sitting on the bride's side because the groom's side was full. Actually, it overflowed so that some of the Weasley relatives had to sit on the bride's side as well. In his rather uncomfortable seat, it was a wooden bench after all; he kept his eyes on Ginny.  
  
"Now that there are no more objections," the priest stated. Ginny swore that when he said objections he turned a judging eye over to her. Then he continued, "Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger, life is given to each of us as individuals, and yet we must learn to live together. Love is given to us by our family or by our friends. We learn to love by being loved. Learning to love and living together is one of the greatest challenges of life - and is the shared goal of a married life."  
  
He began talking about love and marriage, and Ginny found herself drifting off. She saw an eager smile on her friend's face, and thought to herself that she would have never guessed this moment would have come about three years ago. Things sure change fast. On a more humorous note, she was surprised that Ron had made it this far without hyperventilating.  
  
Finally the priest got to the vows. He turned to Ron and asked, "Ronald Weasley, do you take Hermione Granger to be your wife and promise to love, honor, cherish and protect her, forsaking all others and holding only unto her?"  
  
Without thinking about it he replied, "I do."  
  
Glancing over at the guests, Ginny saw a tear on her mother's face. Everyone looked so happy about this union, and why shouldn't they, Hermione and Ron were a great couple.  
  
Then the priest turned to Hermione and asked, "Hermione Granger, do you take Ronald Weasley to be your husband and promise to love, honor, cherish and protect him, forsaking all others and holding only unto him?"  
  
Hermione smiled and predictably answered, "I do."  
  
The priest seemed unmoved, and still irritated from the earlier disturbance. "Wedding rings are an outward and visible sign of an inward spiritual grace and the unbroken circle of love, signifying to all the union of this man and this woman in marriage."  
  
At this Harry, the best man, took the rings out of his pocket and handed them to Ron. Ron gave one to Hermione and held one in his right hand. As he slid it onto Hermione's ring finger he said, "I Ronald Weasley, take thee, Hermione Granger to be my wife- to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, and I promise my love to you forevermore."  
  
Then Hermione took the ring she was holding and slid it on Ron's finger, with some difficulty, while saying, "I Hermione Granger, take thee Ronald Weasley, to be my husband. To have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer, and I promise my love to you forevermore."

Now that was done, the priest continued with, "Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger as the two of you come into this marriage uniting you as husband and wife, and as you this day affirm your faith and love for one another, I would ask that you always remember to cherish each other as special and unique individuals, that you respect the thoughts, ideas and suggestions of one another. Be able to forgive, do not hold grudges, and live each day that you may share it together - as from this day forward you shall be each other's home, comfort and refuge, your marriage strengthened by your love and respect for each other. "In so much as the two of you have agreed to live together in Matrimony, have promised your love for each other by these vows, the giving of these rings and the joining of your hands, I now declare you to be husband and wife. May the Lord bless you and keep you. Congratulations, you may kiss your bride."  
  
Ron lifted Hermione's veil and put it over her head. They smiled at each other and then leaned in for a kiss. Afterwards everyone clapped and the priest pronounced, "I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Weasley."  
  
After the ceremony, everyone left and met up at the reception hall where the reception was being held. It was decorated with white and pink balloons, along with white roses as the centerpiece at every table. Also at every table was an interesting Muggle item, what they call a disposable camera. Mr. Weasley immediately began to take one apart, finding that he couldn't put it back together once it was in pieces. Discouraged, he asked his new daughter-in-law why they used them, and she explained to him the reasoning behind it's being invented.  
  
Dinner was first, but even before that was the toasting. Ron and Hermione, along with the bridesmaids and groomsmen, sat at the table in the front that faces all the other tables. Draco was sitting next to Ginny by her request, she was sure that he didn't want to sit at the children's table. On another side of the room was an open bar, there was a stage opposite the bar where they were going to have some live entertainment, and there was a dance floor in front of the stage. Everyone was seated and had two things in front of them, their dinner and a glass of champagne.  
  
Traditionally it is the best man that gives the first toast, and therefore it was Harry who stood up and began tapping the side of his glass to get everyone's attention. The room quieted, and he began his toast. "You all know why we are here today, for the wedding of my two best friends," he gestured to the newlyweds. "And I am sure that this is only the beginning of many years of bickering," People started laughing at this comment. "And happiness for both of them. Congratulations."  
  
With that he raised his glass and everyone followed, each taking a sip of their champagne. Then he sat down, people began chattering, and then it was Ginny's turn. She did the same thing, and stood up. Draco watched her as she began to speak. "Love is a funny thing," she started, thinking back to her and Draco as she spoke. "It sort of drops down on you when you least expect it to, and you end up finding yourself in love with someone that you would have never thought of.  
  
"I have a poem that I found, which I think is appropriate for this occasion: Love knows no reasons, love knows no lies. Love defies all reasons, love has no eyes. But love is not blind, love sees but doesn't mind."  
  
She turned and looked over at her brother and sister-in-law. "If anyone deserves to be happily married then it is you two. I wish you the best," Then she sat down again and Hermione commented on how touching her toast was.  
  
"So," Draco said with a coy smile. "Is that how you feel about me?"  
  
Ginny smiled back and replied, "You already know how I feel about you."  
  
He raised his eyebrow and she kissed him, knowing full well that was what he wanted. Then she took another sip of her champagne and suddenly remembered something. Turning to him she said, "By the way, I have a question for you."  
  
"Shoot," Draco replied, wondering what it could be about.  
  
"Why did you have a picture of me and Harry?"  
  
His face dropped and he responded, "Next question."  
  
"Come on," Ginny insisted. "Why did you have that picture?"  
  
He narrowed his eyes at her for a second and then finally answered. "My father had someone follow Potter around and take pictures, that happened to be one of them."  
  
Ginny was not satisfied with her answer. "But why did you have it?"  
  
"It was in the file with the rest of the information I took," he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.  
  
"So you wanted me to find it?" she asked.  
  
"It wasn't the pictures that were important," he replied. They were running in circles with this topic. "It was the papers and you seemed to figure that out perfectly well on your own. Now can we put all of that behind us and move on?"  
  
She pondered the question for a second, but then readily agreed. She was ready to move on, and now she wouldn't have to sit in her office and think about all of that for hours like she was doing before. Plus now she had the man, so basically everything was on her side. Ginny shook her head yes and then they began to eat.  
  
After dinner was dancing, and Ron and Hermione danced their first dance as a married couple. Then the other couples joined in, and as they were sitting there watching Draco turned to Ginny, "Care for a dance?"  
  
In her mind she was thinking 'not again', remembering back to the first time he had asked her that question. They had ended up kissing, and would have gone too far if Ginny hadn't stopped herself and left. Now she found it funny, and they went out onto the dance floor together. For two very different people they were well synchronized. Somewhere at about the fifth song the music stopped and an announcement came on. "It is time for the bouquet toss. Let's have all the single ladies out on the dance floor."  
  
Ginny was going to go and sit down with Draco, but Fleur pulled her back onto the dance floor. Standing there she thought about how it should be Fleur who catches it, because she was surely the most likely person on this dance floor to get married soon. She was thinking this when the women around her began squealing and she looked up to see a bundle of white roses flying at her head.  
  
Instinctively she caught it, in order to stop it from hitting her in the head, and then it was only after that she realized what had happened. Everyone began clapping for her, and she saw the smile on Hermione's face widen when she saw who caught the bouquet. She didn't think much of it, but all the other women were making a big deal out of it. Ginny was one who didn't believe in superstitions and doubted that she would be getting married any time soon.  
  
Next it was all the single men who were called to the dance floor, and since Ginny had to go through the bouquet tossing she made Draco go out there for the garter tossing. He went out and stood there looking like he was bored out of his mind. Ginny began laughing at the irony of it all when she saw that it was Draco who caught the garter.  
  
Finally, after all of the festivities were over the newlyweds took off in their limo. Ginny knew she wouldn't be seeing them for at least a week, and before they left she told them to enjoy their honeymoon. Now it was only Draco and her together, he was going to drop her off at the Grangers' later.  
  
"I like this," she stated as they hugged.  
  
"You like what?"  
  
"Us."  
  
He grinned and leaned in for another one of her sweet vanilla kisses. Yes, he could get used to this.  
  
THE END... OR JUST THE BEGINNING?  
WATCH OUT FOR THE SEQUEL ENTITLED THE TROUBLE WITH MARRYING YOUR ENEMY

* * *

**A/N:** Over 200 reviews! Anyway, the poem is a quote that I found on some quotes web page (I don't have the link), so no I didn't write it but I thought it fit so I added it in. I tried to tone down the fluffiness, but with stories like this there is bound to be at least some. I made this chapter longer then the others because for some reason I always forget that I have more to add, plus I needed to fill in the holes so all strings would be tied (too many metaphors in one sentence). Hope you liked the ending and will come back soon for the sequel!  
  
**REVIEW!**  
  
**Taika-** Yeah, lol, nothing like a little foreshadowing.  
  
**valentines-hater-** Good. Me too, if we could all be so lucky as Ginny.  
  
**Dracosbaby7-** Glad you enjoyed the chapter!  
  
**Hannah-** Thanks  
  
**numbluver-** Will do  
  
**Draco & Ginny Forever-** Glad you like it.  
  
**ArcticAngelzTx-** I don't think I'd call it perfect, but thanks for the compliment. I know, I just love leaving cliffs. It's so much fun! -grins evilly-  
  
**GoldenFawkes-** Yes, our beloved Draco is back in the picture.  
  
**Catmint-** That he does. :-), glad you liked it. Thanks for pointing that out to me, I feel stupid now (spell check doesn't catch things like that).  
  
**MoonlightPrincess-** Yes well Draco had a little, erm, 'soul searching' to do. Yes, it would suck if the wedding turned into a funeral, wouldn't it?  
  
**Everyone-** Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Oh, and one more thing, would anyone like to be my beta reader for the sequel? If so then leave your e-mail address so I can e-mail you the first chapter once I write it. I only need one, so the first person to offer will become my new beta reader. Thanks :-)  
  
And I promised a summary of the sequel, so here it is:  
  
_The Trouble With Marrying Your Enemy _

_"Ay me! For aught that I could ever read,  
Could ever hear by tale or history,  
The course of true love never did run smooth."  
-A Midsummer Night's Dream _

_Sequel to The Search For an Undercover Scoop, taking place one year later. Draco proposes to Ginny and she accepts, but how will others react to the news? Pandemonium ensues as people strive to thwart the union between the two former enemies, including the reappearance of Ginny's arch nemesis Cho Chang._


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